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| Marta Kostyuk has won two of her five career meetings with Coco Gauff (Mahmud HAMS) |
Coco Gauff made a surprising early exit from the Qatar Open on Tuesday, falling in straight sets to Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk. Meanwhile, Elena Rybakina cruised into the last 16.
Playing her first match since a quarter-final loss to Paula Badosa at the Australian Open on January 21, Gauff struggled with her serve, hitting seven double faults in an inconsistent performance.
The world number three got off to a poor start, losing serve twice to trail 4-1 before being broken again in the eighth game, allowing Kostyuk to wrap up the opening set in just 30 minutes.
Gauff briefly found her rhythm in the second set, breaking Kostyuk to take a 4-2 lead. However, the Ukrainian fought back, capitalizing on Gauff's unforced errors. The match ended with the American serving two double faults, giving Kostyuk her fifth break of the contest.
"The double-faults made it easier for me... I'm very happy that it ended in two sets," Kostyuk told BeIN Sports.
Meanwhile, Rybakina, who reached the Abu Dhabi semi-finals last week before falling to eventual champion Belinda Bencic, had a more straightforward path to victory. The fifth seed defeated Payton Stearns 6-2, 6-4, despite a late stumble.
After leading 5-0 in the second set, Rybakina missed three match points to close it out at 6-0, allowing Stearns to claw back on serve. However, the former Wimbledon champion finally sealed the win on her fifth match point.
Elsewhere, last year’s French Open and Wimbledon runner-up Jasmine Paolini opened her campaign with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Caroline Garcia in the second round.
Czech rising star Linda Noskova also booked her place in the last 16 with a commanding 6-2, 6-3 victory over Kazakhstan's Yulia Putintseva, setting up a showdown with three-time defending champion Iga Swiatek.
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