Tuesday 30 July 2019 23:11, UK
American teenage sensation Cori Gauff was unable to replicate her Wimbledon heroics as she lost against Zarina Diyas in the first round of the Citi Open in Washington.
The 15-year-old, who lost just nine games in her two matches in qualifying for the US Open warm-up event, was beaten 6-4 6-2 by the world No 84 from Kazakhstan in one hour and 19 minutes.
World No 146 Gauff rose to prominence with her remarkable run through qualifying to the fourth round at Wimbledon, in her Grand Slam debut, earlier this month and was competing in just her third main draw appearance.
Gauff started the match strongly by breaking Diyas in the first game of the match but was broken back immediately, only to regain the lead at 4-3 before the home favourite suffered back-to-back breaks of serve to lose the first set.
Diyas, previously ranked world No 31, squandered three break points in the second game of the second set but was the dominant player in the US capital and sealed victory with consecutive breaks of serve.
After her breakout run at Wimbledon, where she defeated five-time champion Venus Williams on her way to the fourth round, Gauff can only play in a maximum of six more professional events before she turns 16 next March.
Gauff, who was knocked out by eventual champion Simona Halep at the All England Club, became the youngest woman to reach the second week of Wimbledon since Jennifer Capriati in 1991.
Top-seeded Sloane Stephens, who could have been a potential opponent for Gauff in the third round, was upset in straight sets by Rebecca Peterson.
The 2017 US Open champion, who won the Citi Open in 2015, was beaten 6-2 7-5 by world No 70 Peterson from Sweden.
