Top seed Coco Gauff made a winning start to North American summer swing on Thursday in Toronto by beating China's Wang Yafan 6-4, 6-4 in the second round of the National Bank Open presented by Rogers.

Despite a seemingly straightforward scoreline, the three-time quarterfinalist did not have it all her own way against World No.72 Wang, who won two matches in qualifying before beating 2020 Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin in the first round. 

Toronto: Scores | Draws | Order of Play 

But from 4-4 in the opening set -- where Gauff initially led 4-1 -- the World No.2 won five straight games to put herself on surer footing. She eventually finished off an opening win in Canada for the fourth year in a row in 1 hour and 29 minutes.

The American admitted in her post-match on-court interview that she was looking to find her "groove" in her return to the hard-court surface -- in a portion of the season where she particularly thrived 12 months ago -- following her clay-court campaign at last week's the Paris Olympics. 

"I think I made some more errors than I'm used to, but overall, I think I was building the points the correct way," Gauff, who finished the match with 25 winners and 36 unforced errors, said. "I think I just have to do better making those next two balls. But overall, I'm happy with I played."

But her take on the surface switch wasn't all we learned from Gauff's victory. 

Tight starts in each set gave way to smooth finishes. Despite a scratchy start, the American played her best in each set's later stages.

She was the first to face break points -- she saved three at 1-1 -- and the tough hold kicked off a run of three straight games (and 10 of 11 points in them). But the 44-minute first set saw three total breaks of serve, and 34 unforced errors between the two players. 

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Gauff's 11 winners ultimately did a better job of balancing out her 19 miscues -- and two of those finishing shots came in the 10th game, in which she broke Wang a second time.

A swinging backhand in the forecourt gave the American 0-40, and she converted on the third of those set points with a forehand crosscourt winner off of a high, looping ball Wang sent up to change the pace.

After starting the second set down 3-0, Wang again leveled the score -- but Gauff again found another gear in the tightest moments. She won back-to-back games, and the match's last six points, to reach the third round.

She likes to be at the top of the draw. Following Iga Swiatek's withdrawal from the tournament, Gauff is the No.1 seed at a Hologic WTA Tour event for the third time in her career -- but first at a WTA 1000. 

The uncharted territory proved of little consequence: The victory improves Gauff's career record as the No.1 seed at a tournament to 8-1. She won the title at the top of the draw at the WTA 250 ASB Classic in Auckland in January, and lost in the semifinals of the ecotrans Ladies Open in Berlin in June to eventual champion Jessica Pegula.

The win gives her the opportunity to continue a unique streak. Gauff's next opponent is No.14 seed Diana Shnaider, who won a third-set tiebreak for the second time in as many matches this week to topple Poland's Magdalena Frech. 

Though they're both 20 years old, Shnaider is just short of one month younger than Gauff, with the pair born on April 2 and March 13 in 2004, respectively. Gauff is 7-0 in her professional career against players younger than her, and has only lost one set in those matches.