Coco Gauff's Qatar Open struggles continue with opening-round defeat

World No 5 Gauff received an opening-round bye at the WTA 1000 event and would have been hoping to seal her first match win in Doha since 2023, after falling to Katerina Siniakova in 2024 and Marta Kostyuk in 2025.

However, the American was far from her best against Cocciaretto, who had entered the draw as a lucky loser - and who had never previously won a set against Gauff in three previous meetings.

The world No 57 was broken just once across the whole match, while breaking Gauff four times on her way to sealing a comprehensive 6-4, 6-2 win over the two-time Grand Slam singles champion.

Victory over Gauff was only Cocciaretto's third win over a top-10 player, and her first since stunning Jessica Pegula at Wimbledon last year.

"It's incredible, the tournament here. It's an honour to play such a great example for me," said the Italian, speaking in her on-court interview.

"She's (Gauff) a really great player, great person, so it was an honour to share the court with her today. I'm really happy to be in the next round here in Doha."

Credit must go to Cocciaretto for achieving one of the best wins of her career, though Gauff will likely be concerned after another difficult defeat.

This was the American's first match since her 59-minute quarter-final loss to Elina Svitolina at the Australian Open, and issues within her game were once again evident.

Gauff's serve was less troublesome at points across this contest, with just three double faults to her name across the match, though she hit just 14 winners compared to a staggering 39 unforced errors in total - with the majority coming from the forehand wing.

The 21-year-old's forehand has been another key element that she has struggled with at times during her career, and she will look to bounce back at the Dubai Tennis Championships next week.

Having lost three straight matches in Qatar, Gauff will look to avoid another defeat in Dubai - having lost her first match at that event twelve months ago, falling to compatriot McCartney Kessler.

Her last match win during the Middle East swing came at the Dubai Tennis Championships in 2024, reaching the last eight before falling to Anna Kalinskaya.

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