Cincinnati Open: Coco Gauff loses opening match of her title defence to Yulia Putintseva
Defending champion Coco Gauff suffered a shock defeat to Yulia Putintseva in her opening match of the Cincinnati Open.
Gauff, who also won last year’s US Open to secure a first Grand Slam title, had no response as Putintseva took the last four games of the match to battle to a 6-4 2-6 6-4 victory.
Putintseva, who knocked out world No 1 Iga Swiatek at Wimbledon this year, will face Spain’s Paula Badosa in the last-16.
It wasn’t the only shock in the women’s draw in Cincinnati on Thursday, as fourth seed Elena Rybakina too was knocked out in the second round, losing to Leylah Fernandez 3-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-4.
Fernandez, who was runner-up to Great Britain’s Emma Raducanu at the 2021 US Open, looked back to her best on the hard courts as the Canadian steps up her preparations for another run at Flushing Meadows.
Fernandez will next face Diana Shnaider in the third round after she comfortably beat American Ashlyn Krueger on Thursday.
Third seed Aryna Sabalenka booked a spot in the last 16 in Cincinnati with a 6-3 6-4 win over Elisabetta Cocciaretto of Italy.
Highlights of Aryna Sabalenka against Elisabetta Cocciaretto from the Cincinnati Open
Awaiting the two-time Australian Open champion in the third round is Elina Svitolina after the popular Ukrainian made light work of Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro with an emphatic 6-4 6-1 victory.
Elsewhere, 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva beat veteran Czech Karolina Pliskova 6-2 6-3 to continue her progress.
What’s coming up on Sky Sports Tennis?
In the run-up to the final Grand Slam of 2024 – the US Open – you can watch all of the biggest tennis stars in action live on Sky Sports as they compete across the hard-court season.
- Cincinnati Open (ATP 1000) – 12-19 August
- Cincinnati Open (WTA 1000) – 13-19 August
- Winston-Salem Open (ATP 250) – 18-24 August
- Tennis in the Land, Cleveland (WTA 250) – 18-24 August
- Abierto GNP Seguros, Monterrey (WTA 500) – 19-24 August
- US Open (ATP/WTA) – 26 August – 8 September
Sky Sports+ has officially launched and will be integrated into Sky TV, streaming service NOW and the Sky Sports app – giving Sky Sports customers access to over 50 per cent more live sport this year at no extra cost.
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