Déjà vu for Gauff at the NBO, as top seed overcomes double faults

Gauff moved into the fourth round by beating Veronika Kudermetova 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 to cap play during the day session in Montreal.

Offering up 23 double faults in her opener against Danielle Collins in a three-set thriller on Tuesday night, the number dropped but it was still higher than Gauff would have hoped for (14).

The double faults have crept up intermittently in her already excellent career.

“Obviously I am so disappointed in myself when it comes to that part of the game just because I didn't play D.C. to work on that and made changes to that and (I’ve been) doing well in practice and serving really well in practice,” Gauff told reporters, referring to the Washington event last week. “Yeah, so I just would like for it to transfer to the match.

“It does give positives that, okay, I'm winning these matches having literally like one part of my game on a crutch. So, it's like if I can stand on both feet, then I can only imagine that it would be a lot more straightforward and a lot more easier for me.”

Gauff, though, knows how to scrap her way to victories and the two-time Grand Slam winner did it yet again.

She wasn’t in as much danger against Kudermetova as she was against Collins – who served for the match in the final set – but Gauff trailed by a set and break.

Collins and Kudermetova both pack a punch from the baseline and each had sixteen Top 10 wins coming into this week. One of those for Kudermetova came against Gauff two years ago. 

Somewhat ironically given the serving struggles – Gauff, unusually, tossed her racquet in the second set after another double – the serve rescued the 20-year-old in the second set.

Down another break point at 1-3, Gauff crushed one to fend it off.

Later in the set at 5-5, Gauff saved a break point with finesse, authoring a drop shot that did just enough to force a miss long from Kudermetova.

The famous Gauff court coverage officially brought on the final set, as the American scampered in her backhand corner to stay in the point before Kudermetova sent a high backhand swinging volley into the net.

She’ll probably be disappointed with the miss, especially given her doubles prowess highlighted by winning Wimbledon this month. Then again, Gauff forces players to miss like perhaps no other on the tour.

What did Gauff do as the former no. 9 took a lengthy bathroom break at the end of the set? She hit some serves.

The pause between sets did nothing to tweak the momentum. Gauff won the first eight points of the decider and unlike in the first when she led 4-1, hung on against her deflated foe.