Gauff loses opening match at Luxembourg Open in straight sets

LUXEMBOURG (AP) Coco Gauff lost her opening match at the Luxembourg Open in straight sets on Wednesday, just three days after winning her first WTA title in Austria.

Eighth-seeded Anna Blinkova of Russia beat the American 15-year-old 6-4, 6-0 in their first-round match. Gauff won just eight points in the second set and Blinkova clinched the victory with a forehand winner to set up a second-round meeting with Tatjana Maria.

Gauff became the youngest player to win a WTA tournament since 2004 when she beat 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko in the final in Linz on Sunday.

''I know she's a great player and I knew she was coming off a WTA tournament win, so I was well prepared,'' Blinkova said.

Fifth-seeded Viktoria Kuzmova was also eliminated, losing to Laura Siegemund of Germany 6-2, 6-3.

Third-seeded Elena Rybakina advanced easily by beating Denisa Allertova 6-2, 6-1, while Margarita Gasparyan defeated Monica Niculescu 6-2, 7-5.