Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva rallied from a 4-2 deficit in the third set to defeat American Coco Gauff for the first time in their four meetings, upsetting the defending champion 6-4 2-6 6-4 in the second round of the Cincinnati Open.
Returning to action this week after reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon, where she ousted world No. 1 Iga Swiatek, world No.34 Putintseva came from a set down to defeat Great Britain’s Harriet Dart in the opening round, then won four consecutive games in the third set against Gauff to secure her 13th career Top 10 victory. The second-seeded Gauff, who also suffered an early exit at the Canadian Open last week, committed 50 unforced errors, including nine double faults, as she lost her opening match in Cincinnati, where she became the youngest champion last year before going on to win her maiden Grand Slam title at the US Open.
Putintseva’s third-round opponent will be Washington D.C. champion Paula Badosa, who cruised past Anna Kalinskaya 6-3 6-2 earlier on Thursday.
While Putintseva delighted Kazakhstan, her compatriot Elena Rybakina endured a frustrating defeat to Leylah Fernandez, squandering two match points and committing a slew of errors. The fourth-seeded Rybakina, playing her first match since the Wimbledon semifinals, struggled…
