After withdrawing her name from the 2025 Citi Open, citing a busy schedule and wanting to have a “real training block,” Coco Gauff was desperate to get back to winning tracks in Montreal. Talking about his return to the tournament, Gauff said, “Being back in Montreal is great, and it’s definitely refreshing… I like this tournament a lot and would love to do great here one of these years.” But she was handed a very tricky matchup right in the first match of this tournament. Guess what? Danielle Collins nearly pulled off a massive upset in this epic duel in the R64 of the 2025 Canadian Open.

Collins had entered this contest following a 6-3,7-5 win over Viktoriya Tomova in the R128. Shortly after that incredible victory, Danielle Collins spoke about her upcoming match against Coco Gauff and she said, “We are going to bring the energy, we are going to bring that feistiness, right? We’re going to go out and just battle.” Well, interestingly, both these players gifted the tennis fans a stellar show in Montreal.

Although Coco Gauff managed to secure the first set by 7-5, Danielle Collins came back strongly to secure the second one by 4-6. However, after a fierce fight in the third set, Gauff did manage to wrap up the match by 7-5,4-6,7-6(2). Although Gauff managed to secure her first win since Roland Garros triumph, her performance in this match wasn’t up to the mark. She committed 23 double faults in this match! What was her reaction to this narrow escape? “Definitely have a lot left in the tank. Umm, yeah, it was a frustrating match for me because I felt like I was practising well, and then I don’t think I transferred today,” said Gauff.

In the same post-match interview, she further added, “Hopefully, here I got my bad match of the tournament out of the way, and I can come back stronger in the next round.” Having said that, she also shared a few words about her opponent, Danielle Collins, and hailed her for showcasing incredible resilience in this tight contest. “This is my first time playing Danielle (Collins). She’s obviously a tough competitor, a great tennis player, a great person..umm, I got to know her very well at the United Cup. She’s always nice to me. So, yeah, it was a tough battle out there.”

What a match it was, though! Coco Gauff was just two points away from facing yet another early exit. However, Collins never really reached the match point and lost nine of the last eleven points in this epic duel, which lasted for almost 2 hours and 55 minutes. But despite playing an ‘ugly’ brand of tennis, Gauff yet again managed to end up on the winning side. What are the key takeaways for Gauff in this match?

“Danielle is a great ball striker, and for me to break her as many times as I did, there’s definitely some positives to take from today,” Coco Gauff added in her post-match interview. Next up for her is the former world number 9, Veronika Kudermetova. Both these players have faced each other three times in their careers, and currently, the American has a 2-1 record against the Russian star. Can Gauff keep her winning run intact? Time will tell! But this wasn’t the first time that we’ve seen her win a match after playing a poor brand of tennis!

Tennis world reunites to share their thoughts on how Coco Gauff manages to steal victory from the jaws of defeat

Coco Gauff versus Danielle Collins was a match full of drama. On one side, we witnessed Coco Gauff’s constant struggle with her second serve, and then in another moment, we witnessed Collins’ angry outburst during the second set of this match. Collins is known for her on-court intensity and passionate displays, leading to angry outbursts. This time, after failing to secure a point against Gauff after a rally, Collins smashed her racket on the ground. The score was then 1-1 in the second set. 

After failing to secure the first set, perhaps Collins was a bit too desperate to get back in this match, and eventually she managed to pull herself back in with an impressive performance in the second set. Her resilience was truly praiseworthy, but what wasn’t at all praiseworthy was Coco Gauff’s performance in this match. However, having said that, perhaps most of the fans are now quite well accustomed to seeing her win matches out of nowhere.

Remember what happened at last year’s WTA Finals? Gauff was down by 5-3 in the third set against Qinwen Zheng, but despite trailing, she ended up on the winning side. Reacting to that impressive comeback win, she said that she was just trying to hang in there instead of giving up. Even this year, at the Italian SF, Gauff faced a tough challenge against Zheng. But eventually, after a tough battle, Coco Gauff managed to win the match by 7-6(3),4-6,7-6(4). How does she manage to bring out favorable results from unfavorable circumstances time and again?

Well, in a previous episode of the TC Live Podcast, Andy Roddick said, “She has confidence when chips are down, even if she doesn’t have her best stuff, even when she thinks she feels like she’s hitting a beach ball that day. It doesn’t know where it’s going. She can still kind of grind in and simmer in, and that’s what we call match tough.” He claims, “She’s just really good at dragging you into the gutter when she is not playing well.“

The seven-time Grand Slam champion, Justin Henin, had also once hailed Gauff’s resilience by saying that she has the capability to bounce back, and that’s the sign of a potentially very big future. During the 2025 French Open, Coco Gauff secured a 6-2,6-4 victory against Tereza Valentova (CZE), however, despite that straight-set win, her performance in that match became the talk of the town. Why?

Coco Gauff landed 70 per cent of her first serves, won just 19 per cent of her second serve points, and was broken five times in that match! While sharing her thoughts on that match, she said, “I felt like today wasn’t isn’t always the way I like to play, but that was what was required for today, to be honest.” Even Roger Federer’s ex-coach, Paul Annacone, was left impressed with this line. No matter how badly she plays, as long as she wins her matches, everything could perhaps be fine. What are your thoughts on this, though?