Coco Gauff survived hitting 23 double faults and 74 unforced errors to record her first win since her victory in the French Open final in June.
The American, the top seed in Montreal, was two points from defeat against compatriot Danielle Collins but rallied to win 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(2) in two hours and 55 minutes.
Gauff had previously lost her opening round matches in Berlin and at Wimbledon, the latter bringing an abrupt end to her grass-court season.
Having received a first-round bye at the Canadian Open she played an erratic second-round match against Collins, a former top-10 player who also produced an error-strewn performance, hitting 13 double faults and 80 unforced errors as momentum swung from one side to the other.
“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,” Gauff said afterwards. She described it as a “frustrating match” and added, “maybe if I cut [the errors and double faults] in half, it would be a quicker match for me.
“Danielle is a great ball striker and for me to break her as many times as I did, there’s definitely some positives to take from today.” The pair traded nine breaks of serve in what was only their first Tour-level meeting.
Gauff will play Veronika Kudermetova, another former top-10 player, next, after the Russian dispatched 29th seed Olga Danilovic.
The WTA 1000 tournament is one of the major hard-court tournaments leading up to the US Open, which begins on 24 August. Gauff’s fellow American Jessica Pegula is the two-time defending champion in Montreal.
