CINCINNATI — Defending champion Coco Gauff misplaced Thursday in her opening match on the Cincinnati Open, falling to Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.
Gauff, then 19, turned the youngest Cincinnati champion final yr on her approach to profitable the US Open a couple of weeks later. This time, after a bye within the first spherical, the No. 2 seed blew a 4-2 lead within the third set and misplaced to Putintseva for the primary time in 4 profession conferences.
Putintseva, who beat top-ranked Iga Swiatek at Wimbledon, will face Spain’s Paula Badosa on Friday within the third spherical.
The ladies’s No. 4 seed additionally was eradicated, with Elena Rybakina falling to Leylah Fernandez 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4. No. 3 Aryna Sabalenka received her opening match, beating Italy’s Elisabetta Cocciaretto 6-3, 6-4.
Taylor Townsend saved up her sturdy summer time by beating No. 9 seed Daria Kasatkina 6-1, 2-6, 6-1 and can face both fellow American Jessica Pegula, the No. 6 seed, or Karolina Muchova.
In males’s motion, No. 12 seed Ben Shelton outlasted Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry, 6-7 (6-8), 7-6 (9-7), 6-3. An American, Brandon Nakashima, beat France’s Arthur Fils 7-5, 7-6 (7-3) to arrange a gathering with No. 6 seed Andrey Rublev.
No. 2 seed Carlos Alcaraz was in motion Thursday night time in opposition to Gael Monfils.
Fifth-seeded Hubert Hurkacz additionally reached the spherical of 16, however No. 8 Grigor Dimitrov and No. 9 Stefanos Tsitsipas have been each ousted. Dimitrov fell to Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan 4-6, 6-4, 6-3; whereas Britain’s Jack Draper beat Tsitsipas 3-6, 6-4, 7-5.
