Sabalenka, Gauff crash out in Berlin

NEW DELHI: The path to Wimbledon hit a snag for top seed Aryna Sabalenka and American sensation Coco Gauff as they both suffered second-round defeats at the Berlin WTA tournament on Thursday.
Sabalenka, the world number two, was outplayed by Veronika Kudermetova, losing 6-2, 7-6 (7/2). Meanwhile, Gauff faced a tough challenge from Ekaterina Alexandrova, with the Russian player emerging victorious with a score of 6-4, 6-0.
Alexandrova and Kudermetova will meet in Friday's quarter-finals, just five days after they fought out the final in 's-Hertogenbosch.
Kudermetova had also defeated Sabalenka at the same stage in Berlin 12 months ago in three sets.
On Thursday, world number 13 Kudermetova broke her Belarusian opponent three times in her 99-minute victory.
Alexandrova, ranked at 22, successfully defended her 's-Hertogenbosch title in a dramatic three-set triumph over Kudermetova on Sunday.
Her win over Gauff avenged her loss to the American teenager from two match points up in their only previous meeting at Dubai in 2021.
After falling behind 3-1 in the first set, the 28-year-old Russian won 11 of the last 12 games to reach the Berlin quarter-finals for the second time in her career.
"Grass is not my favorite surface, but somehow I'm managing to play so well on it," said Alexandrova.
"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."
(With AFP Inputs)