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Swiatek sails through as Gauff survives / Photo: © GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
Swiatek sails through as Gauff survives
Coco Gauff overcame 13 double-faults on Wednesday as she battled past Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina and into the third round of the WTA Toronto Masters, where top-ranked Iga Swiatek sailed through.
Gauff, the US teenager who fell to Swiatek in the French Open final this year, held on to beat Rybakina 6-4, 6-7 (8/10), 7-6 (7/3).
Gauff lost out on four chances to close out a straight-sets victory as a quartet of match points came and went.
Kazakhstan's Rybakina, aided by Gauff's service struggles, had looked as if she might pull off another marathon victory. She had needed three hours to get past Marie Bouzkova in the first round.
But Gauff finally prevailed, 70 minutes after her first opportunities, claiming victory on her fifth match point.
Both players were appearing for the first time in Francophone Montreal after making Canadian debuts a year ago in Toronto.
World number 11 Gauff lost serve three times against Rybakina but broke on four occasions.
Meanwhile, Swiatek glided through untroubled in her second-round match, defeating Australian Ajla Tomljanovic 6-1, 6-2 in 55 minutes.
The top-seeded Pole with six titles this season faced nine break points, saving six.
Swiatek was playing her second tournament since losing to Alize Cornet in the third round at Wimbledon last month, a defeat which ended her 37-match win streak.
S. Soerensen--BTZ
