IN A massive upset, Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva finished strongly to stun top five talent and number two seed Coco Gauff in the Cincinnati Open overnight. Putintseva – who was coming off a title in Birmingham – fought back from a break down in the deciding set to defeat Gauff, 6-4 2-6 6-4.

The world number 34 was coming off a title on grass at the Rothesay Classiv, and a huge upset win over world number one Iga Swiatek at Wimbledon en route to a fourth round appearance, but had not played on the WTA Tour since then. Putintseva was due to play in Paris, but withdrew on the eve of the Olympic Games, so has had more than a month’s rest.

She looked at her sharpest during the second round clash, bouncing back from a slow second set and trailing 2-4 in the decider to win the last four games of the match and run over the top of her younger opponent. The 29-year-old has now had seven Top 20 wins in 2024, and risen from 68th in the world at the start of the year, to now 30 with the victory over Gauff.

Boasting a career-high 27th in the world, the second highest ranked Kazakh was able to also overcome a 0-3 head-to-head record against Gauff, though all previous meetings had been on clay. The American was inconsistent with her errant forehand causing quite a few of her 50 unforced errors, always allowing Putintseva into the match.

Putintseva was able to break back when 2-4 down thanks to two double faults off Gauff’s racquet, which gave the underdog enough momentum to go on with it and seize her chance with another break in the next return game.

“I think the level of the game was high, especially for those conditions — the courts are lightning fast, so I’m pretty happy to get through,” Putintseva said post-match.

“The whole match was a roller coaster. At this point, I was thinking I broke her a couple of times and it was not something special to break someone again. She hit two double faults, and I hit two good returns. She mishit it, the game changed immediately.

“On these kind of courts, you have to stay really focused, because the game can change quickly.” 

Putintseva will face off against DC Open champion Paula Badosa, with the former world number three racing past 13th seed Anna Kalinskaya 6-2 6-3, and has found her best form of late, winning eight of nine games since returning to hardcourt in the second half of the year.

AROUND THE COURTS

Former Russian now Armenian, Elina Avanesyan has continued to make the most of her second chance, stunning the unpredictable, but powerful Jelena Ostapenko in a come-from-behind three-set win, 2-6 6-2 6-2. A lucky loser entering the main draw, she has knocked off Ostapenko and fellow Grand Slam winner, Bianca Andreescu back-to-back.

That was far from the only upset though, with Canadian Leylah Fernandez also coming from behind to put away Grand Slam winner Elena Rybakina in two hours and 35 minutes, 3-6 7-6 6-4. She was joined in the Round of 16 by Jasmine Paolini, Elina Svitolina and American qualifier Taylor Townsend who all advanced.

Townsend upstaged Russian Daria Kasatkina in a momentum-swinging match, 6-1 2-6 6-1. It was better news for the other Russians with Liudmila Samsonova and Diana Shnaider both running away with straight set wins after a tough first set challenge, while Bulgarian Aryna Sabalenka won in two sets over Italian Elisabetta Cocciaretto.

A couple of matches were suspended which were within grasp of the finish line as well. Seventh seed Qinwen Zheng was 6-1 5-4 up against Pole, Magdalena Frech before being called off due to rain, as was Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Caroline Wozniacki‘s clash, with the former leading 7-5 4-2.