PARIS (Reuters) – Coco Gauff reached the third round of the French Open for the first time as the 17-year-old American battled past China’s Wang Qiang 6-3 7-6(1) on Thursday.
Gauff eased through the opening set after jumping out to a 3-0 lead but did not have things her own way after that against the player she beat to win the Parma title last month.
Former world number 12 Qiang served for the second set at 5-3 but was broken and then had a set point on the Gauff serve after the American double-faulted.
But 24th-seeded Gauff showed great resilience to take the set into a tiebreak that she never looked like losing.
After two straight-sets wins she will now face either Fiona Ferro or fellow American Jennifer Brady in the last 32.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Toby Davis)
