Coco Gauff clinches second Montréal comeback vs. Veronika Kudermetova

Coco Gauff staved off defeat for a second time at the Omnium Banque Nationale, rallying from a set and a break down to defeat Veronika Kudermetova, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2.

The top seed has struggled for consistency since winning her second Grand Slam title at Roland Garros last month, but found her fighting form when she needed it most to hold off Kudermetova after two hours and 32 minutes on Center Court.

Back at No. 2 in the WTA rankings, Gauff played inspired tennis to topple world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka on the terre battue, but went 0-2 on grass, crashing out of Wimbledon in the first round. Her kick-off to the US Open swing nearly ended in similar fashion before the American rallied to defeat Collins in a third-set tiebreaker.

Gauff looked to be a clear favorite having won her last two matches against Kudermetova, a former world No. 9 down to No. 40. But the 28-year-old came into the match with a solid win over No. 29 seed Olga Danilovic under her belt, and Kudermetova quickly took a similar lead over Gauff on Thursday.

Roaring back from 3-0 down in the opening set, Kudermetova won six of the next seven games to serve out the opening set. She rode that momentum into another break advantage to start the second set.

A set and 1-3 down, Gauff narrowly avoided a double-break deficit by saving a break point in the fifth game and turned the match on its head when she leveled the second set with a strong forehand return.

Despite struggling on serve, Gauff saved two break points in a marathon ninth game, putting herself on the brink of a decider. She saved another break point at 5-5 and put the pressure back on Kudermetova, who buckled at set point down to push the match into a final set.

Gauff carried that momentum through a fifth straight game, earning a 3-0 advantage in the third. Kudermetova halted the run with a hold of serve, but Gauff was in full flight and served her way to a 5-2 lead.

After standing five points from victory in the second set, Kudermetova found herself serving to stay alive. Gauff earned two match points and converted her second to edge over the finish line in just over two and a half hours.

Standing between Gauff and a spot in the quarterfinals will be the winner of the third round between Marie Bouzkova and Canadian wild card Victoria Mboko. Gauff beat both women on clay in the spring, Bouzkova en route to the Roland Garros title and Mboko from a set down at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome.