Coco Gauff has been on fire this season—leading her team to victory at the United Cup and charging into the Australian Open quarterfinals with undeniable flair. But tennis, as we know, isn’t just sunshine and wins. Her latest stop in Qatar? Let’s just say things didn’t go as planned. In a surprising twist, Gauff faced an early exit that left fans stunned. But here’s where it gets interesting—her opponent, Marta Kostyuk, wasn’t just there to play; she came with serious confidence after the match.
The Ukrainian star ousted the American tennis sensation in the latter’s opener match of the tournament itself in straight sets 6-2, 7-5. One of the key factors behind Gauff’s debacle was her struggle with forehand. In the first set, Gauff was broken three times besides the 3 double faults and 19 unforced errors fired by her. While she tried to improve her consistency in the second set, the series of double faults and unforced errors continued and eventually, the 20-year-old was left baffled. But besides the thrilling encounter, what caught the attention was cheeky remarks from Kostyuk after the match.
Speaking in the on-court interview, Kostyuk hailed her opponent’s resilience. However, she did not fail to add some cheeky spice to it. “I mean, Coco is an incredible fighter, we always have incredible matches. If you haven’t seen our match in Stuttgart, go on YouTube and watch it for sure,” she said. For the unversed, the only victory that Kostyuk pulled against Gauff so far was in in the quarterfinals of Stuttgart Open last year, where she won in three sets. Continuing further, she expressed her happiness over ousting World No. 3.
“A great one. I just tried to stick to what I had to do and I’m very happy it worked out in two sets. Very happy to be through to round of 16,” Kostyuk added. And there is enough reason for Kostyuk to express this confidence and joy. This was the first victory that the Ukrainian clinched over the 2023 US Open Champion on a hard court. Besides, she also reduced the head-to-head difference to 2-3. This victory will further boost her confidence for the remainder of the tournament as she will look forward to returning home with the glorious title.
Marta Kostyuk after beating Coco Gauff in Doha
“Coco is an incredible fighter. We always have incredible matches. If you haven’t seen our matches, go on YouTube and watch it.”
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) February 11, 2025
For Coco Gauff, Doha has continued to be a troublesome chapter. The American star now has a 4-4 record at the Qatar Open across four appearances. However, she will not be losing any points as she faced a similar fate last year as well, after losing to Katerina Siniakova in her opening match.
More to follow…
The post ‘Go On YouTube and Watch’ – Coco Gauff’s Qatar Open Opponent Rolls Back Time, Exuding Confidence After Sensational Win appeared first on EssentiallySports.
