Australian Daria Gavrilova has reached the Connecticut Open second round after a three-sets win over world No.40 Kristyna Pliskova.
Gavrilova was unconvincing in the 7-5 4-6 7-5 victory on Monday at the WTA tournament in the week leading to the US Open.
Gavrilova, ranked 26 in the world, lost serve in the opening game before breaking back twice to win the opening set.
In a match where both players struggled on serve, Gavrilova was broken twice while losing the second set and could only convert one of six opportunities to break her Czech opponent.
The 23-year-old again endured two breaks in the third set but took three of her 10 break points, including four match points, to claim victory in two hours and 12 minutes.
Gavrilova will play Timea Babos for a place in the quarter-finals after the Hungarian’s 7-5 7-5 win over Kristina Mladenovic.