German qualifier Niemeier ousts defending champion Ons Jabeur in 1st round of Berlin Open

BERLIN (AP) — German qualifier Jule Niemeier has upset defending champion Ons Jabeur 7-6 (4), 6-4 in the first round of the Berlin Open. The 120th-ranked Niemeier saved two set points at 5-3 down in the opening set, then won the last four points of the tiebreaker. She held on to win in 1 hour, 35 minutes for her third victory against a top-10 player. Coco Gauff defeated Czech player Katerina Siniakov 6-3, 6-4 for the American teenager’s 23rd win of the year. The fourth-seeded Gauff next faces big-hitter Ekaterina Alexandrova. Alexandrova defeated fellow Russian Liudmila Samsonova 6-4, 6-3. Top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka eased into the second round with a 6-3, 6-2 win over veteran Vera Zvonareva in another all-Russian match.