Xinyu Wang of China knocked off French Open champion Coco Gauff 6-3, 6-3 in the Round of 16 at the Berlin Tennis Open on Thursday.
Gauff, the No. 2 seed, was playing in her first match since winning her second career Grand Slam on June 7 at Roland Garros. She had seven double faults to just one ace, and Wang pressed her to break point on 11 occasions, winning four.
The No. 3 and 4 seeds, Jessica Pegula and Italy’s Jasmine Paolini, lost on Wednesday, leaving World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus as the only top-four seed left standing in Berlin. In a match that was suspended due to wet conditions Wednesday, Sabalenka completed a 6-2, 7-6 (6) victory over Switzerland’s Rebeka Masarova on Thursday.
Also advancing to the quarterfinals were Amanda Anisimova, the Czech Republic’s Marketa Vondrousova and Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina.
Lexus Nottingham Open
No. 8 seed Katie Boulter is the last Brit standing in Nottingham, England, after outlasting countrywoman Sonay Kartal 6-4, 1-6, 7-5 in the second round.
Boulter won fewer points overall than Kartal but dug in during the third set, when she rallied from 4-2 down and persevered as Kartal saved two match points in the 10th game.
Boulter’s next opponent is McCartney Kessler, who upset No. 1 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia in the first round and followed that up Thursday with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over China’s Lin Zhu.
Danish No. 2 seed Clara Tauson eased past Russia’ Anna Blinkova 6-4, 6-4, while Polish sixth seed Magda Linette was a 7-5, 6-1 winner over Mingge Xu of Great Britain.
