“Belief is never an issue for me” – Putintseva reaping the rewards of inner self-assurance

The Kazakh knocked out defending champion Coco Gauff 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 at the Cincinnati Open to reach the third round

Yulia Putintseva, Cincinnati Open, 2024 © Zuma / Panoramic

Jamie Malachy

August 16, 2024

Cincinnati Open •Third round • completed

See draw

Y. PutintsevavsC. Gauff

Yulia Putintseva is enjoying a highly productive summer.

After claiming her first WTA title in just under three years at the Birmingham Classic back in June, the Kazakh world No 32 then ripped up the projected script at Wimbledon the following month with a stunning third-round victory over runaway world No 1, Iga Swiatek.

While that promising Wimbledon run was ended by Jelena Ostapenko in the next round, Putintseva’s rich vein of form has extended into the North American hard-court swing in impressive fashion.

Following her exploits at Wimbledon, the Kazakh has now backed up her new-found reputation as a big-name threat with another seismic upset – this time, over world No 2 and defending champion Coco Gauff at the Cincinnati Open.

“Belief is never an issue for me,” Putintseva told Tennis Channel after her victory.

Admittedly, this result says just as much about the American’s current slump as it does about Putintseva’s own blistering form. But these are the type of matches that, prior to this summer, the Kazakh would likely have fallen short at the finish line.

Now, she is making leading-name scalps a routine component of her game. This should cause many of the WTA’s elite players to pay close attention to the Kazakh’s progress, particularly in the lead-up to the US Open.

Since the second half of June, Putintseva has won ten out of her 11 matches. Having disappointingly missed the Olympics due to a knee injury, the world No 32 has returned to regular tour action by picking up right where she left off at the end of the grass-court season.

inner belief fuelling excellent summer for putintseva, as Gauff struggles

It would appear that this innate knack for self-belief, instilled by her parents from a young age, is starting to pay dividends on the match court.

“Since I was a kid I remember that only my parents believed in me,” Putintseva continued.

“They were the only ones who thought I would be able to do well due to my height. I was the smallest person in the group, and my father was like, ‘You’re the best. You have to believe that you’re the best, otherwise it’s not going to work.’

“I’ve always had it in my head that I have to fight. If I fight and if I’m there every point, then I can do it.”

Such self-belief can be a fragile thing.

It would appear that Gauff is currently struggling somewhat in this area. In stark contrast to Putintseva, the American has endured a torrid summer, suffering early and acrimonious exits at both Wimbledon and the Olympics.

Unable to defend her Citi Open title in Washington due to her participation in the Games, Gauff then fell in the second round of Toronto to Diana Shnaider. With her opening-round loss here in Cincinnati, the American will slip down to third in the WTA rankings, and this malaise may start to ring alarm bells – especially with Gauff’s defence of her US Open title now less than two weeks away.

“It was not the best match for me,” she told an interview with the WTA, having opted against attending her post-match press conference.

“I made a lot of errors, especially when I was up 4-2 (in the third). I think most of the points she won were off my errors. She’s always a tricky opponent to play. She mixes up the ball. She has drop shots, slice. She’s kind of someone that makes you earn the match.

“I feel like I have to work on consistency overall. I will probably to go home and try to reset. Obviously, I have a lot coming up soon with the US Open, so I think just trying to reset and be ready for that.”

Gauff and her team will be hoping that this reset does the job, and that the American can arrest this drop in form in time for the start of the final Grand Slam of the season.

If not, then another meeting with a player of the current ilk of Putintseva in New York – riding high on confidence and self-belief – could well spell the early end of the defending champion’s reign at Flushing Meadows.