Berlin Open: Gauff loses in first match after French Open win; Sabalenka survives a scare

Berlin, June 19: French Open women's singles champion Coco Gauff returned to the country after her biggest triumph of the year did not go as she had planned as she went down to China's Wang Xinyu in the Berlin Open on Thursday. The World No. 2 was upset in the second round of the Berlin Tennis Open by the Chinese player, 6-3, 6-3 in her first match since winning the French Open on June 7.

Playing against the two-time Grand Slam winner, Wang, ranked World No. 49, picked up her third career Top 10 win in 1 hour and 15 minutes. She beat Jessica Pegula twice in 2024, including at Wimbledon on her way to the fourth round. Wang's grass-court prowess has continued in Germany.

In addition to beating Gauff, she has also picked up scalps against Daria Kasatkina and 2022 Berlin champion Ons Jabeur in four wins so far, having come through qualifying at the WTA 500 event.

The 23-year-old won four straight games to win the first set and five in a row from 3-1 down in the second. She will face the No. 8 seed in the quarterfinals.

SABALENKA PULLS THROUGH

Meanwhile, World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka too forced some tough hurdles in her first match since losing the Roland Garros final to Coco Gauff two weeks ago.

However, the top seed at the Berlin Tennis Open weathered an overnight delay after the first set, then came from 4-2 down in the second to defeat big-serving qualifier Rebeka Masarova 6-2, 7-5 to reach the quarterfinals.

Sabalenka advances to the last eight in Berlin for the second year running and will next face 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, who held off Katerina Siniakova.

Earlier, another former Wimbledon winner also booked her place in the quarterfinals. Marketa Vondrousova set a rematch of the 2023 Wimbledon final against Ons Jabeur after overcoming Diana Shnaider 6-3, 6-7(3), 6-3 in 2 hours and 20 minutes.

After her title defense at the All England Club ended in the first round last summer, Vondrousova missed the second half of last year after an arm issue and shoulder surgery, and a thigh injury suffered in her comeback tournament in Adelaide in January forced her out of the Australian Open. She was also sidelined for three months since February when her shoulder problem flared up again. But the win against Shnaider is her fourth in six matches since her most recent hiatus.

Reader Comments

Here are 6 authentic Indian perspective comments for the tennis article:

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Rahul K.

Wang Xinyu's performance was impressive! Chinese athletes have been rising in tennis recently. Hope our Indian players can also make such breakthroughs in women's singles. Sania was great but we need new champions! 🇮🇳🎾

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Priya M.

Grass court season is always exciting! Sabalenka showed why she's world no.1 with that comeback. But honestly, I was hoping to see more of Coco after her French Open win. Maybe she's tired from all the celebrations? 😅

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Ankit S.

Interesting to see Asian players making waves in tennis. First Osaka, now Wang. Meanwhile, where are our Indian women players? We need better grassroots programs and infrastructure to compete at this level.

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Shreya P.

Vondrousova's comeback story is inspiring! Injuries can be so tough on athletes. Wishing her all the best for Wimbledon. Meanwhile, Sabalenka vs Rybakina will be 🔥 - two power hitters on grass!

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Vikram J.

Grass court tennis is so different from clay! Gauff probably needed more time to adjust after Paris. But credit to Wang for playing fearless tennis. The depth in women's game is amazing these days.

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Neha R.

As an Indian tennis fan, I enjoy watching these international tournaments but feel sad we don't have players competing at this level. Hope Ankita Raina and others get more support to break into top 50 soon! 🤞

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