Zheng stuns Swiatek at Olympics as Alcaraz closes in on Djokovic clash

DOHA: Coco Gauff suffered a surprise early exit from the Qatar Open on Tuesday with a straight-sets defeat by Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk, while Elena Rybakina eased into the last 16.

Former US Open champion Gauff blew a healthy advantage in the second set as Kostyuk sealed a 6-2, 7-5 victory and a third-round meeting with the winner of an all-Polish tie between Magda Linette and Magdalena Frech.

“Coco is an incredible fighter,” Kostyuk said. “We always have incredible matches. I tried to stick to what I had to do.”

Gauff, playing for the first time since a quarterfinal loss to Paula Badosa at the Australian Open on Jan. 21, served seven double-faults and made 39 unforced errors in an erratic display.

The American made a terrible start, slipping 4-1 behind after dropping her serve twice.

Gauff was broken again in the eighth game as Kostyuk secured the first set in just half an hour.

The world No. 3 hit back with a break en route to a 4-2 lead in the second set as she started to find her rhythm.

But Kostyuk battled back, taking advantage of an error-strewn Gauff performance which ended when she served two double-faults to be broken for the fifth time.

“The double-faults made it easier for me... I’m very happy that it ended in two sets,” Kostyuk told BeIN Sports.

Rybakina, who lost to eventual winner Belinda Bencic in the Abu Dhabi semifinals last week, saw off Payton Stearns in her opening match.

The fifth seed cruised to a 6-2, 6-4 win despite a late wobble to set up a third-round tie against Slovakia’s Rebecca Sramkova who beat Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva 3-6, 6-3, 7-5.

Rybakina led 5-0 in the second set but missed three match points to take it 6-0 and then briefly fell apart as Stearns dragged the set back on serve.

The former Wimbledon champion belatedly got over the line on her fifth match point.

Chinese seventh seed Zheng Qinwen joined Gauff in crashing out, though, beaten 6-4, 6-2 by Ons Jabeur.

Three-time Grand Slam finalist Jabeur claimed her first win against a top-10 opponent since last year’s Madrid Open after struggling with injury.

The Tunisian will next face 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin.

Jasmine Paolini, last year’s French Open and Wimbledon runner-up, also made a winning start to her campaign with a 6-3, 6-4 victory against Caroline Garcia in the second round.

American sixth seed Jessica Pegula negotiated a tricky second-round match, battling past Elina Svitolina 6-3, 7-6 (7/3).

Czech youngster Linda Noskova earned a last-16 tie against three-time defending champion Iga Swiatek with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva.

ABU DHABI: Belinda Bencic is through to another Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open final after coming from behind to eliminate reigning champion Elena Rybakina in a pulsating contest.

The Swiss player will now meet Ashlyn Krueger, who beat Linda Noskova in straight sets to reach Sunday’s showpiece.

Winner of the inaugural Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open in 2023, Bencic went into the semi-final against the current champion as the underdog. Rybakina, who came out on top in a three-set thriller against Ons Jabeur in the last eight, started the match in ominous fashion, quickly taking control and claiming the first set 6-3.

Bencic, having only returned to action at the tail end of last year after taking a maternity break, had grown in stature throughout the tournament and secured her passage to the semi-finals with a straight-sets win over Marketa Vondrousova.

The disappointment of falling behind, if anything, galvanized the 27-year-old, who responded brilliantly in the second set, racing into a 3-0 lead. Rybakina, in true champion style, hit back, but Bencic held on to force a decider.

Bencic looked the more dangerous of the two players and, after breaking Rybakina for a third time, found herself serving for the match.

Rybakina saved two match points before breaking her opponent’s serve to close the deficit to a single game, with the score 5-4 in favor of Bencic, who was left serving for the match once more.

This time around, she was not to be denied, seeing out the match to win 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 and book her place in the final for the second time.

Krueger’s impressive form in the tournament continued after standout wins against Daria Kasatkina and Leylah Fernandez, as she edged an entertaining clash with Noskova to reach the final.

It was a clash of the rising stars with the two players, both 20, having impressed on their way to the last four, with Noskova beating Paula Badosa and Magda Linette in straight sets.

It was the first meeting between the two players and Noskova, who won her maiden title at the Monterrey Open last August, appeared to be on course to take the first set as she led 4-2.

Krueger, however, had other ideas and fought back strongly as both women attempted to seize the initiative. It was no surprise to see the set eventually settled via a tie-break, which Krueger claimed 7-2 to take the lead.

After that Krueger grew in confidence and broke Noskova twice to take control of the second.

Despite failing to take advantage of a match point, with Noskova breaking her opponent and winning the next game on serve to bring it back to 5-4, Krueger, serving for the match, successfully sealed a 7-6, 6-4 victory and secure her first appearance in a WTA 500 final.

Jelena Ostapenko/Ellen Perez are through to the final of the doubles event after an impressive 6-3, 6-2 victory against Marketa Vondrousova/Liudmila Samsonova in the day’s opening match on Stadium Court.

They will meet Kristina Mladenovic/Shuai Zhang in tomorrow’s final after the duo defeated Olivia Nicholls/Olivia Gadecki 6-1, 6-4 in the second semi-final.

The doubles final, scheduled for 2:30 p.m., gets tomorrow’s action underway as the two pairings aim to claim the title which was won last year by Americans Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin.

That match will be followed by the Krueger-Bencic singles final.