BERLIN — Newly topped French Open champion Coco Gauff was shocked on her return to motion Thursday, dropping to Chinese language qualifier Wang Xinyu 6-3, 6-3 on the Berlin Open.
The second-ranked Gauff, who gained at Roland-Garros lower than two weeks in the past for her second Grand Slam title, amassed 25 unforced errors and 7 double faults in her loss to Wang.
Gauff had a bye to the second spherical on the grass-court event, a warmup for Wimbledon.
Wang, ranked No. 49, stated she would have been happy simply with the primary set, contemplating the extent of her 21-year-old opponent.
“After I gained the primary set, I simply instructed myself ‘OK let’s take a minute and revel in this, I am taking part in the French Open champion, and I gained the primary set,'” she stated in her on-court interview.
“Irrespective of how the second and third go, I used to be like, ‘OK let’s simply take pleasure in it for a second,'” stated Wang, who will face Paula Badosa within the quarterfinals. “I am actually proud of how I performed right this moment. I used to be serving good and placing loads of stress on the return, particularly second-serve return.”
Prime-ranked Aryna Sabalenka completed off Rebeka Masarova 6-2, 7-6 (6) in a match that was suspended Wednesday after one set due to a slippery court docket.
Sabalenka had misplaced to Gauff on the French Open closing and later apologized to the American for making “unprofessional” feedback after the Paris title match.
Sabalenka will meet 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina within the quarterfinals.
