Coco Gauff defeated in straight sets against Ekaterina Alexandrova at Berlin Open

No. 5 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova beat world No. 7 Coco Gauff 6-4 6-0 to advance to the quarter-finals of the Berlin Open.

It was a difficult match for the American, who struggled with her returns and hit only 42% of her serves.

She failed to match the Russian’s forehand strength and especially struggled in the second set when she won only one point out of eight behind her second serve.

Gauff went up 3-1 early on in the first set, but Alexandrova quickly responded by breaking her opponent’s serve in the subsequent game. From that point onward, she won all three of the match’s prolonged and closely contested game-deciding points, taking the set in the end.

In the second, Gauff saved three break points, but couldn’t convert her own game point and ended up conceding the break on the fourth break point due to a netted forehand.

She was then plagued by a series of unforced errors, particularly on the forehand side, tallying up to 27 mistakes. In comparison, Alexandrova showcased her solid tennis to see out the set without dropping a game.

Alexandrova, who won the Libema Open last week, will face the winner of the match between Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, the top seed, and Russian wildcard Veronika Kudermetova next.

“Honestly, I don’t know,” said Alexandrova after her win when asked about her strong grass-court form.

“Grass is not my favourite surface, but somehow I’m managing to play so well on it. And maybe the score looks easy, but it’s never like that because she played amazing.

“I needed to stay focused during every single point to keep it that way. I’m just hoping I can keep this form as long as I can.”