Defending champion Coco Gauff stunned by Yulia Putintseva in Cincinnati opener

CINCINNATI—Defending champion Coco Gauff was stunned in three sets by Yulia Putintseva in the second round of the Cincinnati Open 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, the latest upset in a day full of surprises at the Lindner Family Tennis Center.

A year ago, these courts proved to be the site of Gauff's career breakthrough, backing up a huge win over world No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the semifinals to capture her biggest title. That result became a springboard, with Gauff going on to capture even bigger hardware at the end of the summer with the 2023 US Open title.

Read More: Diana Shnaider earns first Top 10 victory in third-round stunner against Coco Gauff in Toronto

Now, the 20-year-old American is left seeking answers after a disappointing build-up to her biggest title defense; Gauff is now 1-2 across the North American hard-court swing, with her lone victory coming in Toronto over Wang Yafan.

"It was not the best match for me," said Gauff, who declined a post-match press conference but gave her comments via an interview with the WTA Tour. "I made a lot of errors, especially when I was up 4-2 (in the third). I think most of the points she won were off my errors.

"She's always a tricky opponent to play. She mixes up the ball. She has drop shots, slice. She's kind of someone that makes you earn the match."

WATCH: Yulia Putintseva takes out defending Cincinnati champ Coco Gauff | MATCH POINT

Putintseva, who owned a 0-3 head-to-head record against Gauff going into their clash with all three previous matches coming on clay, will face Washington DC champion Paula Badosa in the round of 16. The Spaniard toppled No. 13 seed Anna Kalinskaya 6-3, 6-2 earlier in the day to advance.

The Kazakh player missed out on participating in the 2024 Olympic Games due to “a serious knee injury” she suffered during warm-up before her first-round match in Paris. The freak injury interrupted a red-hot stretch for Putintseva, who claimed her first WTA title in three years in Birmingham.

Putintseva has channeled that disappointment into another Top 5 stunner: having toppled world No. 1 Iga Swiatek at Wimbledon, she’s now added the current world No. 2 to her list of victims. She’s now won 10 of her last 11 matches dating back to June.

“Belief is never an issue for me. Since I was a kid I remember that only my parents believed in me,” Putintseva told Tennis Channel after the match. “They were the only ones who thought I would be able to do well due to my height. I was the smallest person in the group, and my father was like, ‘You’re the best. You have to believe that you’re the best, otherwise it’s not going to work.’

“I’ve always had it in my head that I have to fight. If I fight and if I’m there very point, then I can do it.”

Gauff, on the other hand, is set to drop to world No. 3 on Monday after her second-round defeat. The American’s recent woes only continued in Cincinnati—where she had hoped to hit the mental reset button after a third-round exit in Toronto, her first tournament back since falling in the third round of the Olympic Games.

"I feel like I have to work on consistency, overall," Gauff told the WTA Tour. "... (I will) probably to go home and try to reset. Obviously, I have a lot coming up soon with the US Open, so I think just trying to reset and be ready for that."