Marta Kostyuk in action against Coco Gauff Marta Kostyuk in action against Coco Gauff Marta Kostyuk upset Coco Gauff in the second round of the Qatar Open, beating the former US Open champion in straight sets. (More Sports News)
Kostyuk, who reached two Tour-level finals and climbed as high as number 16 in the WTA rankings last year, took advantage of an error-strewn Gauff display to win 6-2 7-5.
The Ukrainian started the match as she meant to go on with back-to-back breaks, composing herself on her own serve after initially gifting one of those breaks straight back to Gauff.
Kostyuk only needed 30 minutes to claim the opener, and though Gauff improved in the second set, she finished the match with 39 unforced errors to just eight winners.
Serving to force a second-set tie-break at 5-6, Gauff double-faulted twice – her sixth and seventh of the contest – to hand Kostyuk two match points, the second of which was converted.
Qatar Open 2025: Badosa Battles Past Lucky Loser Zarazua In Doha Opener"Coco is an incredible fighter," Kostyuk, who will face Magda Linette or Magdalena Frech next, said in her on-court interview. "We always have incredible matches.
"I tried to stick to what I had to do. I'm very happy it worked out in two sets."
India, the most successful team in the competition, now have five titles, including back-to-back triumphs in 2023 and 2024. The victory adds to their bronze medal secured at the Paris Olympic Games last month.
After a goalless first quarter, Korea struck just 36 seconds into the second quarter with Jungjun Lee finding the net due to a mistake from Pakistan goalkeeper Abdullah Ishtiyaq Khan. The goal remained the difference between the two teams till the half-time.
3 - Marta Kostyuk has defeated the highest ranked opponent in her career on hard court (Coco Gauff, World No. 3 in Doha). Peak.#QatarTotalEnergiesOpen | @QatarTennis @WTA @WTA_insider pic.twitter.com/wISFJG3OFR
— OptaAce (@OptaAce) February 11, 2025Data Debrief: New high for Kostyuk
With Gauff ranked third in the world, this victory represents the best of Kostyuk's young career to date.
Gauff had won 17 straight matches against players ranked outside the world's top 20extreme gaming 88, but 22-year-old Kostyuk – currently 21st – brought that run crashing to a halt.
