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Recipient of a first round bye, American Gauff lost 6-3, 6-3 to Chinese qualifier Wang Xinyu.
Coco Gauff reacts after losing a point against China’s Xinyu Wang during the Berlin WTA tennis tournament. (Picture Credit: AP)
Twelve days after winning her second Grand Slam title at the French Open, Coco Gauff was eliminated in the first round on grass in Berlin on Thursday, while French Open finalist Aryna Sabalenka advanced to the quarter-finals.
Having received a first-round bye, American Gauff lost 6-3, 6-3 to Chinese qualifier Wang Xinyu. Meanwhile, world number one Sabalenka beat Rebeka Masarova 6-2, 7-6 (8/6) in her second-round match.
Winner of 10 main tour titles, including the US Open in 2023 and the WTA Finals in 2024, Gauff has yet to win a grass-court tournament.
Wang had lost her only previous match against Gauff in straight sets on Berlin’s grass in 2022.
The 49th-ranked Chinese player trailed 3-1 in the second set before winning five consecutive games.
She will play Spain’s Paula Badosa, the 10th seed, in the quarter-finals.
Earlier, Sabalenka completed her match, which was suspended on Wednesday after the first set. The Belarusian had to work hard upon resumption as the 112th-ranked Swiss Masarova took her to a tiebreak.
The win moves Sabalenka into the quarter-finals as she seeks to build her grass-court form ahead of Wimbledon.
The 27-year-old has won 20 titles but none on grass.
She will face 11th-ranked Kazakh Elena Rybakina, who defeated Czech doubles specialist Katerina Siniakova 6-4, 7-6 (7/5).
Sabalenka is aiming to reach the semi-finals in Berlin for the first time in her career.
In the first match of the day, 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova, ranked 164th, needed two hours and 20 minutes to overcome Russian 12th seed Diana Shnaider 6-3, 6-7 (3/7), 6-3.
In the quarter-finals, she will face Tunisian Ons Jabeur, the woman she defeated in the Wimbledon final two years ago.
(With inputs from AFP)
- Location :
Berlin, Germany
- First Published:
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