By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Tuesday, February 11, 2025
The American hit 39 unforced errors as she fell to Marta Kostyuk in Doha. It was her third straight loss at the event.
Photo Source: TTV
Coco Gauff had won her three previous meetings against Marta Kostyuk on hardcourts, and the American had taken her last 17 matches against players ranked outside of the Top-20.
Those numbers went down the drain on Tuesday in Doha, as the 2023 US Open champion racked up 39 unforced errors and fell to the 21st-ranked Ukrainian, 6-2, 7-5.
“Coco is an incredible fighter, we always have incredible matches,” said Kostyuk on court after her win. “I just tried to stick to what I had to do, and I’m very happy it worked out in two sets – very happy to be through to the round of 16.”
Kostyuk started her career on an 0-14 streak vs. the WTA’s Top-10, but since Wimbledon 2023 she has won nine of her last 15. She also defeated Gauff in a third-set tiebreak last year on the red clay of Stuttgart.
How has the 22-year-old managed to turn things around against the tour’s elite?
“Dedication, and the will to keep going brought me here today,” she said. “It’s a good feeling to have.”
Truth be told, it was a horrible day for Gauff, who hit just eight winners against 39 unforced errors. Things have not gone well for her in Doha of late, and she drops her third consecutive match at the WTA 1000 event. She fell in her opener last year to Katerina Siniakova and lost in the quarterfinals in 2022 and 2023.
Somehow the World No.3 still led by a break in the second set, but Kostyuk took five of the final six games to lock up the victory. Gauff won just 7 of 21 second-serve points in the 74-minute contest. She was broken five times and hit one ace and seven double faults.
Zheng Falls to Jabeur
Gauff wasn’t the only Top-10 seed to meet her maker on Tuesday in Doha. Seventh-seeded Zheng Qinwen was sent tumbling by three-time major finalist Ons Jabeur, 6-4, 6-2.
Resurgent Jabeur broke Zheng six times and won over 70 percent of her first serve points to win for the first time against the Chinese and earn her first Top-10 win on a hardcourt since 2023.
In other early action in Doha, No.5-seeded Elena Rybakina survived the comeback attempt of Peyton Stearns to win 6-2, 6-4. Rybakina led 6-2, 5-0 before Stearns rallied to make it a match. Jessica Pegula took out Elina Svitolina, 6-3, 7-6(3).
Linda Noskova defeated Yulia Putintseva, 6-2, 6-3, to earn a round of 16 showdown with three-time defending champion Iga Swiatek.
Other Tuesday Results from Doha
Rebecca Sramkova d. Mirra Andreeva [12] , 3-6, 6-3, 6-5
Jelena Ostapenka d. Liudmila Samsonova [16], 7-6(5), 7-5
Sofia Kenin d. Alycia Parks, 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-2
Elise Mertens d. Cristina Bucsa, 6-2, 6-3
[4] Jasmine Paolini d. Caroline Garcia, 6-3, 6-4