Coco Gauff suffers shock early exit from Wimbledon after losing to Sofia Kenin in the first round of the tournament

Coco Gauff is out of Wimbledon after losing to qualifier Sofia Kenin in the first round.

After going down 6-4 in the first set, seventh seed Gauff bounced back immediately to race into a 3-0 lead at the start of the second.

The American teenager – who burst onto the scene with victory over Venus Williams at the All England Club in 2019 – kept her composure, despite losing a service game, to level the tie at one-set-all to force a decider.

2020 Australian Open winner Kenin seized the advantage early in the final set by breaking Gauff’s in the opening game.

Kenin saved three break points to go 3-1 up and broke her compatriot once more before earning the chance to serve for the match.

She held her nerve to make it through to the second round.

Speaking after the match, Kenin said: “I can’t even talk. I’m super happy. Coco played a tough match. I knew I needed to play my best in order to win.”

After three first round exits at major tournaments, Kenin is currently ranked No.128 in the world and she was asked how she handled the pressure as victory came into sight.

“I mean just play point by point. Don’t get over anxious, super excited. I just tried to stick to my plan and I was super happy that I finished before it got dark because I didn’t really feel like finishing it tomorrow to be honest”, she said.

“This means a lot. I had to go through qualies and I battled out there and I just took this match as any other match. I knew Coco’s had a great season, great year so I’m just super proud of myself.”

Gauff’s exit provided the biggest shock of day one at Wimbledon, with the 19-year-old suffering her earliest defeat at the tournament.

Kenin will face Xinyu Wang next, after the Chinese player beat Australia’s Storm Hunter in straight sets.

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