Coco Gauff’s defense of her Cincinnati Open title didn’t get past the first round as the American was surprisingly defeated 6-4 2-6 6-4 by Yulia Putintseva.

The world No. 34 was trailing 2-4 in the final set, but won four straight games to see out the match in spectacular fashion and claim her first career win over Gauff.

The American world No. 2, who only reached the second round of the Canadian Open last week, hit nine double faults in an error-strewn performance.

“I think the level of the game was high, especially for those conditions,” Putintseva said, per the WTA. “The courts are lightning fast, so I’m pretty happy to get through.

“The whole match was a roller coaster. At this point, I was thinking I broke her a couple of times and it was not something special to break someone again. She hit two double faults, and I hit two good returns. She mishit it, the game changed immediately.

“On these kinds of courts, you have to stay really focused because the game can change quickly.”

Yulia Putintseva shocked the world No. 2.

Susan Mullane/USA Today/Reuters

Putintseva will face Spain’s Paula Badosa in the next round.

Gauff heads into the US Open, which begins on August 26, as the defending champion after winning the first grand slam title of her career last year on home soil.

The 20-year-old recently represented Team USA at the Olympics in Paris, losing to Croatia’s eventual silver medalist Donna Vekić in the third round.

Elsewhere, 2021 US Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez caused another upset as she shocked fourth seed Elena Rybakina, winning 3-6 7-6(3) 6-4.

Fernandez, who lost in the 2021 US Open final to Emma Raducanu, has steadily risen through the rankings over the last year and is now the world No. 26.

Britain’s Dan Evans outlasted Karen Khachanov in the longest match in US Open in history on Tuesday, holding off the Russian in a mammoth, five-set epic which lasted for five hours and 35 minutes.

The pair’s first three sets went to tie breakers in New York, with Khachanov leveling the score with victory in the fourth. And the sun began to set, Evans produced a remarkable comeback in the final set, coming back from 4-0 down by winning the match’s final six games to advance to the second round with a score of 6-7(6), 7-6(2), 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-4.

An exhausted Evans was asked by Sky Sports for his reaction to the marathon encounter in the immediate aftermath, to which he replied: “I just want to go to bed.”

In his press conference after his victory, Evans outlined his mentality as the match wore on, saying he was just trying to “play, stay out there as long as possible at four-love and just see where I could get myself.”

“I’ll say it, it’s the longest I’ve ever been on a court,” the 34-year-told reporters. “In the fourth set, I had to check the set to see what set we was in. I wasn’t entirely sure what set we was in.

“But I don’t really want to do that again. That’s for sure.”

Evans and Khachanov’s encounter broke the record for longest match at the grand slam which had previously been held by Stefan Edberg and Michael Chang in their 1992 semifinal which ran for five hours and 26 minutes.

All five sets on Court 6 lasted more than an hour, with the third set lasting 72 minutes.

As the match progressed, both players appeared to be battling injuries and fatigue, with Evans holding his lower back at times and bent over with his hands on his knees in between points. He said afterwards that he was “hurting all over really.”

Evans returns a shot against Khachanov.

Jamie Squire/Getty Images

But as Evans mounted a heroic comeback in the final set and with the crowd roaring him on, he closed out the historic victory with a final forehand which Khachanov could only hit into the net.

Evans’ fellow Brit and playing partner at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Andy Murray, posted a succinct review of the match’s conclusion on X, formerly known as Twitter: “Goosebumps.”

Evans described it as an “immensely proud” moment to complete the mammoth victory after having an injury-plagued year.

“I’ve had a lot of first rounds this year. It’s nice to win a match,” he said. “Obviously, it was a long match. But, yeah, that’s the overriding feeling is to still be able to win at this level. You always have doubts when you’ve been not winning. That’s normal in any walk of life.

“If you’re not doing well, you have doubts. It’s no different in tennis. That would be my overriding feeling is I’m happy to come through that match. Of course, it’s a special match to win in what fashion, or however you want to say. But yeah, I’m proud that I’m still able to compete on the tour.

“As you said, my ranking has dropped. I thought I could [still compete], but it’s easier said than done. You can always think it, but you’ve got to go out there and do it.”

Evans said he will prioritize rest on Wednesday before facing Mariano Navone of Argentina in the second round on Thursday.

tennis Archives - Ination

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Cincinnati Open: Defending champion Coco Gauff loses in first round of final tournament before US Open

‘I just want to go to bed’: Dan Evans outlasts Karen Khachanov in longest US Open match in history