World number one Aryna Sabalenka and number three Coco Gauff have both bowed out in the second round of the Qatar WTA Open here.
World number 26 Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova rebounded from a break down twice in the third set to prevail over three-time Grand Slam champion Sabalenka 3-6 6-3 7-6.
Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk, ranked 21 in the world, rallied from 3-1 down in the second set to carve out a 73-minute straight 6-2 7-5 victory over Gauff.
The 2023 US Open champion was undone by seven double faults and 39 unforced errors while she managed just eight winners.Gauff had won her last 17 matches against opponents ranked outside the top 20 before facing Kostyuk.
In other matches, former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina raced to a 6-2 6-4 win over American Peyton Stearns, while Jasmine Paolini – last year’s Wimbledon and French Open runner-up – defeated Caroline Garcia 6-3 6-4.
Three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur set up a meeting with former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin after beating world number eight Qinwen Zheng of China 6-4 6-2. UNI XC SSP
