Defending champion, Coco Gauff starts her campaign at the Cincinnati Masters against Yulia Putintseva. Gauff started her season with a bang, clinching the title at the ASB Classic. After that, she has made quite a few long runs in her previous tournaments but has failed to deliver when it mattered the most. Recently, she suffered a shocking defeat to Diana Shnaider in the R16 of the Canadian Open. Putintseva knows that the American has been struggling a bit in the last few tournaments. Can she capitalize on this in Cincinnati?

Coco Gauff vs Yulia Putintseva: Preview

Apart from winning a title, the 20-year-old American tennis star has also reached five SFs and two QFs this season. She had a disappointing campaign at the Paris Olympics and she was keen to pull things back in Toronto, but the 20-year-old Russian had other ideas. Shnaider beat her 6-4,6-1 in that R16 clash and now it’s high time for the 2023 US Open champion to bounce back on track.

Putintseva also won a title this year and apart from that she has also made quite a few deep runs into the tournaments this season. She has reached four QFs and the Kazakhstani will be keen to make yet another deep run in Cincinnati as well. Putintseva has already defeated the British tennis player, Harriet Dart in the first round (R64) by 4-6,6-0,6-1. Can she come up with a better performance against a tougher opponent? Before jumping to the prediction part, let’s first take a look at the results of their previous encounters.

Gauff vs Putintseva: Head-to-Head

Gauff and Putintseva have played against each other thrice in their careers. Currently, the American tennis star has a clear-cut 3-0 edge over the Kazakhstani in the H2H scoreline.

• 2021 Italian Open R64: Gauff 7-5,4-6,6-4.
• 2022 Madrid Open R32: Gauff 6-1,2-6,6-4.
• 2023 Italian Open R64: 6-0,6-1.

Prediction: Gauff to win this match in three sets

Gauff on the American hard courts is truly a force to reckon with! Beating the defending champion will definitely not be a cakewalk for Putintseva. If we take a closer look at their form in the 2024 season, Gauff has a win-loss record of 38-13 but for Putintseva it’s just 27-13. Both the players have some strengths and weaknesses in the game, for Putintseva it’ll be extremely crucial to get a grip of the match right from the start of the match. Will Gauff allow her a free run though?

Gauff’s fighting spirit even against some of the toughest opponents is what usually separates her from other players. She has an excellent defensive game and can easily topple her opponents with her lethal backhands. Apart from that her big-serving abilities can cause a few troubles for Putintseva in this match. However, if we talk about Gauff’s biggest strength, then it’s surely going to be her athleticism and swift movements on the court. She can also come up with a lot of variation in her game, but her biggest weakness has been her high number of double faults. She has hit 268 doubles faults so far this season.

The 29-year-old Kazakhstani tennis star is more of a counterpuncher. She can absorb the attacks from her opponent’s patient and then she looks to capitalize on whatever openings she gets during her matches. Putintseva is often seen engaging in longer rallies and her incredible movements along with her defensive prowess is what makes her a tough competitor. She even has a good tactical awareness, but is it enough to put her over Gauff in this match? Perhaps not!