Coco Gauff battles errors to advance at Indian Wells

World No. 3 Coco Gauff secured her first WTA Tour victory since January with a hard-fought win over Moyuka Uchijima at the Indian Wells Open in California on Saturday.

Gauff battled through 74 unforced errors to claim a 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(4) victory, ending her six-week losing streak following an early exit at the Australian Open.

Tennis betting sites had the American favored heading into the second-round matchup, despite her recent struggles.

Her second serve remained a major concern, with 21 of her unforced errors coming as double faults.

However, with world No. 52 Uchijima landing just 54% of her first serves, Gauff managed to push the match into a deciding-set tiebreak and sealed the win in two hours and 33 minutes.

“I think if I just double-faulted less it could have probably been a straight-set match,” Gauff said afterward.

“Coming off a tough couple back-to-back losses, I guess it’s just taking it more as a positive maybe than if I had a couple good weeks last two tournaments.

“If I’m able to win matches playing kind of like D tennis, then it gives me confidence just when I’m able to mesh things together like I did earlier this season.

“Today is just one of those days where I just did not feel great on the court. Because of the last couple of weeks, I’m pretty hard on myself. I just wanted to do better.”

Gauff will face former world No. 3 Maria Sakkari in the third round on Monday, where she is listed as a -250 favorite with Nags.bet.

Despite her inconsistent form, tennis sportsbooks still have the 20-year-old on the fourth line of betting to win the Indian Wells title, trailing Aryna Sabalenka (+350), Iga Swiatek (+400), and Elena Rybakina (+800).