Gauff overcomes 14 more double-faults to advance in Montreal

MONTREAL (AP) — Coco Gauff overcame 14 more double-faults to beat Veronika Kudermetova of Russia 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 on Thursday in the National Bank Open.

Two days after surviving 23 double-faults and a third-set tiebreaker against fellow American Danielle Collins, the top-seeded Gauff rallied from a set and break down against Kudermetova to reach the round of 16.

“It was a tough match,” Gauff said. “I thought I did well mentally, especially on the return. I was playing an opponent that served really well. Obviously, I would like to serve better on my end, but overall, just happy to get through.”

Gauff, No. 2 in the world behind Aryna Sabalenka, entered the week having lost two straight matches since winning the French Open, falling in her opening matches in Berlin and Wimbledon.

Graf set up a match with 18-year-old Canadian Victoria Mboko, a 1-6, 6-3, 6-0 winner over Marie Bouzkova of Czechia in the night session.

McCartney Kessler of the United States upset fourth-seeded Mirra Andreeva of Russia 7-6 (5), 6-4. Tenth-seeded Elina Svitolina beat Kamilla Rakhimova of Russia 7-5, 6-2.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis