In a stunning turn of events at the Cincinnati Open, the defending women's singles champion, Coco Gauff of the U.S., was upset by Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan with a score of 4-6, 6-2, 4-6 in their second-round match on Thursday.
Reflecting on her performance, Gauff admitted, \"It was not the best match for me. I made a lot of errors, especially when I was up 4-2 in the third. I think most of the points she won were off my errors.\" She praised Putintseva's versatile playstyle, noting, \"She's always a tricky opponent to play. She mixes up the ball with drop shots and slices. She's kind of someone that makes you earn the match.\"
This victory marks Putintseva's first win over Gauff, ending her streak of three straight losses against the current world No. 2. Earlier in July, Putintseva made headlines by upsetting world No. 1 Iga Swiatek of Poland at the Wimbledon Championships. Her next challenge at the Cincinnati Open will be against Paula Badosa of Spain in the Round of 16.
Putintseva shared her journey to success, saying, \"Belief is never an issue for me. Since I was a kid, I remember that only my parents believed in me. They were the only ones who thought I would be able to do well due to my height. I was the smallest person in the group, and my father was like, 'You're the best. You have to believe that you're the best, otherwise it's not going to work.'\"
Meanwhile, Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, the No. 3 seed of the tournament, secured her place in the Cincinnati Open with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Elisabetta Cocciaretto of Italy. This win marks the sixth out of her seven open matches at Cincinnati.
'I'm happy with my level in the tough moments,' Sabalenka remarked. 'Elisabetta is a difficult opponent. She fought to the last point.' Sabalenka is set to face Elina Svitolina of Ukraine in her next match.
Reference(s):
Gauff's Cincinnati Open defense ends after she's upset by Putintseva
cgtn.com
