Coco Gauff and Danielle Collins delivered an error-strewn display in Montreal but it was the No. 1 seed who managed to come out on top and clinch a narrow 7-5 4-6 7-6 (2) win.
Gauff, who is seeded at No. 1 in the absence of Aryna Sabalenka, sprayed a stunning 74 unforced errors and had 23 double faults. Collins wasn't any better, firing 80 unforced errors and 13 double faults in two hours and 54 minutes of play. Overall, the two combined for a stunning 154 unforced errors.
The third set was especially a rollercoaster - the top seed was twice up by a break but Collins managed to twice come back before also claiming a break in the 11th game to go 6-5 up. With a chance to serve out for the match, the world No. 61 failed to seal the deal and she paid the price by easily losing the tie-break.
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How Gauff reacted to winning ugly against Collins?
"I was practicing well and I don't think I transferred it today, but hopefully I got my bad match of the tournament out of the way. Maybe if I cut that in half, it would be a quicker match for me... I thought that I was playing well, except that part of my game," the No. 1 seed said.
In the Montreal third round, Gauff will take on Veronika Kudermetova, who defeated Olga Danilovic in the second round. So far, they have met three times and the Russian caused some problems to the American in the past, having won their 2023 Doha battle. However, the 2023 US Open champion still leads their head-to-head 2-1 since she triumphed in their 2023 Stuttgart and Beijing meetings.
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Heading into the match, one thing is for sure - Gauff will look to do a much better job of making less errors on the court.
