(Stuttgart) Coco Gauff had to draw on her reserves to slow down Veronika Kudermetova and reach the second round of the Stuttgart Open, which was much easier for Elena Rybakina against Jule Niemeier.
Fifth-seeded Gauff needed nearly three hours to defeat Kudermetova 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (3). The Russian came from behind winning the last four games of set two to bring about a final set, in which she came from behind 3-5 to force the tiebreaker.
Gauff finally got the better of her opponent and will face Anastasia Potapova.
Rybakina won five games in a row en route to a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Niemeier, who had taken a 3-1 lead in the second set. She will now face Beatriz Haddad Maia.
Playing for the third time in four tournaments, Karolina Pliskova defeated eighth seed Maria Sakkari 6-2, 6-3 to set the stage for a clash against Donna Vekic.
