Tennis-Gavrilova hangs on to defeat Mladenovic at Cincinnati Open

Australian Daria Gavrilova shook off an uncertain second set to defeat France's Kristina Mladenovic 6-0 7-6(6) on Monday at the Cincinnati Open.

After cruising through a perfect first set, the 23-year-old Gavrilova needed to save a set point in the competitive second set to hand the 13th-seeded Mladenovic her third straight loss.

"She has a history of great comebacks. She has done it at the French Open almost every match," Gavrilova said after the match.

"She stepped up her game and was playing a bit loser and was not making as many unforced errors because the first set was not a great set from her."

Gavrilova moves on to face Italian Camila Giorgi in the round of 32 on Tuesday.

Earlier in the day big-serving Czech Petra Kvitova battled back to defeat Anett Kontaveit 1-6 7-6(2) 3-6.

Kvitova, the tournament's 14th seed and a two-time Wimbledon champion, will face either wildcard American Sloane Stephens or Czech Lucie Safarova, who will play at the Lindner Family Tennis Center on Tuesday.

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)