Coco Gauff knocked out in New York
Coco Gauff's preparations for the US Open were dealt a blow as she was eliminated from the Western & Southern Open in the first round by Maria Sakkari.
Having reached the semi-finals of the Top Seed Open last week, teenager Gauff was on the end of a 6-1 6-3 defeat behind closed doors at Flushing Meadows on Sunday (AEST).
Sakkari had not played since a defeat to Kristyna Pliskova in the first round of the Palermo Open, yet the world No.21 had too much for Gauff, breaking the youngster twice in each set to set up a second-round tie against either Yulia Putintseva or Zhang Shuai.
The Greek No.1 took just 26 minutes to wrap up the first set, with Gauff squandering her only break point of the match in the second game of set two.
Sakkari made sure to make Gauff – who hit just six winners and made 24 unforced errors – pay, coming back from 40-15 down in the next game to break the 16-year-old for a third time.
"[I'm happy with] the way I competed," Gauff, who remained positive despite her defeat, said.
"It's tough after coming from a long stop to find your fighting spirit and your strength inside the court, so that's the thing that I'm really happy that I found today. I always do well in the States. I love the US, and I'm really happy to be back."
