LUGANO, Switzerland -- After three days, defending champion Marketa Vondrousova is into the second round of the Samsung Open.

The 18-year-old Czech outlasted Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan, 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-3, saving three match points in the second set in the process. The first two sets were completed on Monday before rain began to cause havoc in Lugano, washing out much of the play during the first three days of the event.

Vondrousova finally took the third set on Wednesday, staging another remarkable comeback in the match, after falling behind 0-3 in the decider. The titleholder and World No.52 reeled off the final six games to earn a hard-fought victory.

After the match, the Czech teenager told the press that the constant delays were "okay, because it was 1-1 [in sets], it wasn’t like 5-5 or whatever. It was just one set, so it was fine for me."

Putintseva was the much stronger player in the first set, serving at 78 percent and winning two-thirds of points on both her first and second serves. Vondrousova was struggling in the opener, serving seven double faults and winning only 42 percent of points on her second serve.

In the second set, Vondrousova dropped serve to give Putintseva a 6-4, 5-2 lead, but the Czech methodically turned things around from there in the set. Putintseva was broken at 5-2, and then Vondrousova eked through her service at 5-3, staving off two match points. Putintseva served for the win a second time at 5-4, and held a third match point, but Vondrousova evened the set at 5-5.

"I wasn’t playing my best," Vondrousova admitted. "Then I was 2-5 down, and she had three match points, so I was like, 'Yeah, you should start playing!'"

Vondrousova was broken once more, giving Putintseva a chance to serve for the match a third time. But the Kazakh was unable to close, and they moved into the tiebreak, which Vondrousova claimed handily. Then the rains came, delaying the conclusion of the match for two days.

When play picked up on Wednesday, after a complete washout on Tuesday, Vondrousova fell down a quick break, handing Putintseva a 3-0 lead. However, the Czech ran off six straight games in a row, breaking the Kazakh in her final three service games to move into the second round.

"Today, I was 0-3 down, but I was keeping my mind okay," Vondrousova explained. "I just tried to fight every ball, and it worked." Vondrousova claimed over half of Putinseva's service points in the decider.

Despite holding the mantle of defending champion, the teenager is reluctant to call herself that at the new Samsung Open venue of Lugano, having moved from last year's location of Biel. "It’s like a new tournament for me, because it’s not in Biel, so I don’t feel like I won this a year ago," said Vondrousova.

Rain came to Lugano again later on Wednesday, interrupting or postponing even more play, but a few other matches were completed. No.2 seed Elise Mertens of Belgium dispatched new mom Mandy Minella of Luxembourg, 6-4, 6-1, and No.6 seed Alizé Cornet of France defeated wild card Jil Teichmann of Switzerland, 7-6(2), 6-0.

No.9 seed Alison van Uytvanck of Belgium outplayed France's Oceane Dodin, 6-4, 6-2, while Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka upset No.7 seed Mihaela Buzarnescu of Romania, 5-7, 6-3, 6-2. Also, Slovenia's Polona Hercog beat Hsieh Su-wei of Chinese Taipei, 7-5, 6-0, and Italy's Camila Giorgi eased past Czech Kristyna Pliskova, 6-3, 6-2.