Coco Gauff emerged victorious from a Battle of the Breaks against Petra Martic in the second round of the WTA China Open, winning the three-set marathon 7-5, 5-7, 7-6 (2).

The reigning US Open champion came into the second-round clash at the WTA 1000 tournament with a 1-0 lead over Martic in their head-to-head but this was their first meeting in over two years.

The match began with both players staying steady and holding their serve. Gauff's full power was on display as she aced the World No. 48 in her service game at 5-5 and the American quickly ensured a tiebreak at least by holding serve again. However, she didn't end up needing it as the World No. 3 secured the first break of the match with some clever movements on the court.

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Battle of break points in second and third sets

However, things were not as simple for Gauff from that point onwards as Martic fought back in the second set to break the 19-year-old in the very first game. However, Gauff built up two break points in the next game and converted the second one to level the set.

Nevertheless, her opponent was not deterred and subsequently earned two break points of her own in Gauff's second service game and broke back to lead 2-1. The Croatian player then held her serve, making it the first game of the set where a player hadn't been broken.

Shortly after this, Gauff broke back again with an unforced error from Martic sealing the deal. The latter then broke her back immediately afterwards. After two games of holding serve, Gauff built up two more break points and leveled the set at 5-5. The crowd were enthralled by the back-and-forth, but Martic wasn't done yet.

Indeed, she fought back to get yet another break which proved to be crucial as Martic was then able to serve for the set which she won 7-5 to force a decider.

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The closely-contested third set was slightly less topsy-turvy than the second but still had plenty of ups and downs for both players.

Gauff's first service game went to a deuce and after the American double faulted, Martic found herself with another break point which she was able to convert after Gauff's forehand flew into the net.

However, Gauff then built up three break points in Martic's next service game and converted the second to keep the final set level. Martic did secure another break later in the set that saw her serving for the match but Gauff broke back immediately once again, putting the score at 5-5.

From there, Gauff showed her mental strength by saving two more break points and holding serve to ensure a tiebreak at least, which then took place after Martic held her serve.

In the tiebreak, Gauff regained her dominance. After her opponent gained the first mini-break, the teenager won both points on Martic's serve and went on to build up four match points at 6-2. In the end, Martic hit the ball into the net, which saw Gauff win her fourteenth consecutive match as she progressed into the third round of the WTA China Open.

Relevant Tennis

@RelevantTennis

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HEART OF A CHAMPION! ❤️‍🔥🇺🇸 The US Open champion broke Martic when serving for the match, saved multiple break points and wins the deciding tie-break 7-2! 14 wins in a row for Coco, 20-1 since Washington. Gauff now moves to R3 in Beijing!

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The Tennis Letter

@TheTennisLetter

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Gauff d. Martic 7-5 5-7 7-6(2) Petra served for the match in set 3 👀 Coco has literally forgotten how to lose ✅14 match win streak ✅Won 20 of last 21 matches Every bit of her success is the result of her sacrifice, hard work, & strength of character. Keep grinding. 🇺🇸❤️

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