Yastremska topples Gauff to close out Wimbledon 'Day of Upsets'

World No. 42 Dayana Yastremska ousted reigning French Open champion Coco Gauff in the first round of Wimbledon on Tuesday, earning her first win over a Top 2 player since 2019. Gauff became the third Top 5 seed to fall on a shocking day of upsets.

A stunning Tuesday of upsets at Wimbledon ended with the highest seed to fall so far, as No. 2 seed and reigning French Open champion Coco Gauff was eliminated in the first round.

Wimbledon: Scores | Order of play | Draws

In a late-evening affair under a closed roof on No. 1 Court, World No. 42 Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine toppled World No. 2 Gauff of the United States 7-6(3), 6-1 in 1 hour and 19 minutes.

Yastremska executed some of her best tennis to earn her second career win over a Top 2 player, and her first since she beat then-No. 2 Karolina Pliskova at 2019 Wuhan.

"It was a bit tricky match," Yastremska said afterwards, then continued with a smile: "I was actually on fire.

"I really, really enjoyed playing on Court 1. I have good memories from this court, even though last year I lost there to Donna Vekic. I still have a nice memory. This court brings me a lot of energy. I really felt it today."

Gauff was the third Top 5 seed to be upset on Tuesday, following surprise losses by No. 3 seed Jessica Pegula and No. 5 seed Zheng Qinwen earlier in the day. Gauff won her second Grand Slam singles title at Roland Garros last month but has gone 0-2 since.

Tricky draw: Despite the 40-spot difference in their current rankings, this was a matchup that many circled when the main draw came out. Yastremska has been as high as No. 21 in the PIF WTA Rankings, and she made a bold run to last year's Australian Open semifinals as a qualifier.

Moreover, Yastremska has had a strong grass-court swing this year. Coming into Wimbledon, she won six of eight matches on the surface, finishing as the Nottingham runner-up (losing to McCartney Kessler in the final) and making the Eastbourne quarterfinals (falling to eventual finalist Alexandra Eala).

The 25-year-old Yastremska kept up that solid form on Tuesday, defying both the seeding list and her 0-3 head-to-head record against Gauff.

"I feel pretty good on grass," Yastremska said. "I had a couple matches. My main goal was for today's match to go on court and be myself, to be open, and to be free with my decisions and with the way I'm playing. So I think I've done it well today."

Yastremska has now won her opening-round match at six of her last seven Grand Slams. Her career-best Wimbledon result is a Round of 16 run in 2019.

Gauff, meanwhile, has lost in the Wimbledon first round in two of the last three years. She is the third reigning French Open champion to lose her subsequent Wimbledon first-round match in the Open Era, joining Justine Henin in 2005 (lost to Eleni Daniilidou) and Francesca Schiavone in 2010 (lost to Vera Dushevina).

"[Yastremska] played great," Gauff said in her post-match press conference. "I saw the draw and knew it would be a tough match for me. ... I played her on clay, and I think that surface suits me a little better, [and] it was still a tough three-setter.

"I knew today would be tough. I had chances, but yeah, it is what it is."

Match moments: Firing on all cylinders, Yastremska slammed consecutive backhand winners down the line to break for 4-2 in the first set. However, the Ukrainian could not serve out the set at 5-3, double faulting on set point, and double faulting again down break point.

The pair reached the first-set tiebreak, and it was here where double faults began to affect Gauff adversely. The American hit two in the first six points and promptly fell behind 4-2. Yastremska got her second set point at 6-3 in the breaker, and she punched a volley to wrap up the one-set lead.

From there, Yastremska kept dominating on return as Gauff’s double faults continued -- the No. 2 seed had a total of nine in the match. Yastremska was also rock-solid on serve by this juncture; she never faced a break point in the second set as she wrapped up her biggest win by ranking this decade.

Yastremska's next opponent will be qualifier Anastasia Zakharova, who beat former World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 on Tuesday. Yastremska has never faced World No. 95 Zakharova.

Rybakina rolls: The 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina completely avoided the upset bug. No. 11 seed Rybakina cruised through her opening-round match on Tuesday, defeating Elina Avanesyan 6-2, 6-1 in just 61 minutes.

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In another sunset encounter, Kazakhstan's Rybakina did face nine break points, but she saved eight of them to improve to 2-0 against World No. 49 Avanesyan of Armenia.

With the win, Rybakina sets up an intriguing second-round meeting with Maria Sakkari of Greece -- two players who have peaked at World No. 3 in the PIF WTA Rankings. Rybakina leads their head-to-head 4-1.

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