World number 49 Wang Xinyu upset 2025 Roland Garros champion Coco Gauff 6-3 6-3 in 1 hour and 32 minutes at the Berlin Tennis Open.
Gauff was playing her first match since winning her second Grand Slam title at Roland Garros.
Wang has claimed the third top 10 win of her career. The Chinese player upset Pegula twice in 2024 in the second round at Wuhan and in the third round at Wimbledon. She came through qualifying at the WTA 500 in Berlin before beating Daria Kasatkina and Ons Jabeur.
Wang won four consecutive games from 2-3 down with two breaks to seal the first set 6-3. The Chinese reeled off five games from 1-3 down with two breaks to close out the second set 6-3 on her second match point. Wang hit 16 winners to 12 unforced errors.
“After I won the first set, I told myself, ‘OK, let’s take a minute and enjoy this. I’m playing the French Open champion and I won the first set. No matter how the second and third go, I was like, ‘Let’s enjoy it for once second. I’m really happy with how I played today. I was serving good, and putting a lot of pressure on return, especially second serve return. It was a tough match, but I’m happy I hung in there on the tough moments”, said Wang.
Wang set up a quarter final match against Paula Badosa.
