Coco Gauff admits the big mistake she made in the deciding set of her match against Yulia Putintseva

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Coco Gauff outlined the one mistake she made against Yulia Putinseva at the Cincinnati Open.

Gauff suffered another defeat as her title defence at the WTA 1000 event came to a premature end courtesy of the World number 34.

Gauff’s run of form, which includes just five match wins from her last four tournaments, has certainly come as a shock to many.

It is something she has little time to fix with Gauff’s defence of her US Open title commencing in less than two weeks.

What mistake did Coco Gauff make against Yulia Putinseva at the Cincinnati Open?

Coco Gauff lost the first set against Putintseva at Cincinnati, but she fought back in the second set and started to play longer rallies and move her opponent around the court.

The 20-year-old then managed the draw level and her momentum continued into set three where she held a 4-2 lead.

But Gauff started to commit multiple errors which handed the initiative back to Putintseva, who reeled off four successive games to win 6-4, 2-6, 6-4. Post-match, the US Open champion explained where she went wrong after squandering a lead in the final set. 

“I made a lot of errors, especially when I was up 4-2 [in the third set]. I think most of the points she won were from my errors,” she said.

“She’s always a tricky opponent to play. She mixes up the ball, has drop shots, slices. She’s someone that makes you earn the match.”

What is Coco Gauff and Yulia Putintseva’s head-to-head record now?

At the Cincinnati Open, Gauff and Putintseva played one another for the fourth time. Gauff was unbeaten against her coming into their first meeting on a hard court.

The other three encounters were played on clay. Gauff claimed a tight 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 at the Italian Open in 2021, before winning 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 at the 2022 Madrid Open.

Gauff’s most convincing win came in Rome in 2023, as she lost just one in game in a ruthless performance. 

But she was unable to produce that level of play in Cincinnati as Putintseva defeated Gauff for the first time in her career.