Coco Gauff battles past double faults to edge Cocciaretto as Sabalenka marches on

The French Open champion, who was forced to retire against Alex Eala at Indian Wells last week, was well below her best for long stretches but found a way to secure a hard-fought 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory.

Gauff trailed by a break in the deciding set before mounting a comeback to overcome Cocciaretto, who had beaten her in Qatar last month.

"She takes the ball so early, you don't have a lot of time to react," said Gauff. "Once I got adjusted to the tempo, I felt like I could control the rallies when they went longer.

"Last time we played I didn't win, so I wanted to overcome that feeling. This week made me realise how much I love this sport. Even when it's tough, I enjoy the ups and downs of the journey."

This was far from a convincing performance from Gauff, with her serving struggles laid bare by one second delivery that clipped the frame and nearly flew into the crowd, but her resilience ultimately proved decisive, as she fought her way to victory.

Elsewhere, top seed and defending champion Aryna Sabalenka also advanced to round three, overcoming American Ann Li 7-6(5), 6-4.

The World No 1, fresh off her Indian Wells title and riding a strong winning streak, navigated a competitive first set that went to a tiebreak before closing out the match more convincingly in the second.

Sabalenka's powerful baseline game and clutch play in key moments proved too much for Li, who couldn't sustain the pressure against the tournament favorite.

In her on-court interview, Sabalenka addressed the match being moved to a smaller court due to the rainy conditions earlier in the week.

"It was amazing. Thank you for coming guys. Thank you for bringing these beautiful posters. Thanks for the support. I really enjoyed playing in front of you all. But I really hope to get Center court next time. And I really hope that all of you can come and watch me there."

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