American Coco Gauff was knocked out in the first round of the Stuttgart Open on Wednesday after a 6-4, 6-2 loss to Daria Kasatkina.
The 18-year-old Gauff seemed in control when she was 4-0 up in the opening set but Kasatkina recovered to win the next six games, then only dropped two more as she wrapped up the win in 1 hour and 19 minutes.
The Russian player next faces the seventh-seeded Ons Jabeur, who defeated Marketa Vondrousova 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.
Earlier, Bianca Andreescu defeated Germany’s Jule Niemeier 7-6 (5), 6-3 in her first match since October. The former world No. 4 next faces last year’s finalist Aryna Sabalenka for what will be their first tour-level meeting.
Elena Rybakina defeated another young German qualifier, Nastasja Schunk, 7-6 (3), 7-5 and next meets the second-seeded Paula Badosa in the second round.
Eva Lys, a 20-year-old Ukrainian-born German, delighted the home fans by beating Viktorija Golubic 5-7, 7-5, 7-5 on her professional debut. Their match lasted 3 hours and 9 minutes, the joint fourth-longest WTA main-draw match this year. The 342nd-ranked Lys had come through as a qualifying wildcard.—AP
