Coco Gauff prevailed in her opening match at the China Open on Friday night, holding off Clara Burel 7-5, 6-3 to reach the third round in Beijing.

In her first match since a fourth-round loss to Emma Navarro in her US Open title defense, No.4 seed Gauff of the United States notched a 100-minute victory over World No.56 Burel of France. Gauff had to save a set point at 5-4 in the first set before triumphing.

"Clara, she's tough to play," Gauff said after her win. "I played her at Indian Wells this year; it's a tough match but happy to get through.

"I think I stayed aggressive the whole match, even when I was making some mistakes. But I think this is the way I have to play, and I know as I continue to get more comfortable, that will get better."

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Next up: Gauff will next face No.26 seed Katie Boulter of Great Britain in the Round of 32 on Sunday. Boulter defeated Gauff's fellow American Taylor Townsend 6-4, 6-4 on Friday.

Gauff and Boulter have split their two previous meetings, with Boulter winning in three sets at WTA 500 Melbourne in 2021, and Gauff taking a straight-sets win at WTA 1000 Montreal last year.

"I think [Boulter's] been a completely new player this year," Gauff said. "She's playing some great tennis, so it's going to be a tough match. I'll just try to stay solid the whole time."

Fast facts: Gauff had already been challenged by Burel in their previous meeting. At Indian Wells earlier this year, Burel pushed Gauff all the way into a third-set tiebreak before the American gritted out a narrow win.

With her slightly more straightforward victory on Friday, 20-year-old Gauff has now won 46 matches at WTA 1000 hard-court events. That ties Caroline Wozniacki for the most WTA 1000 hard-court match-wins before turning 21 years old (since the WTA 1000 tier began in 2009).

This was also Gauff's 30th straight win over a player ranked outside the Top 50. The last time Gauff fell to a player ranked below World No.50 was her loss to fellow Grand Slam champion Sofia Kenin in the first round of 2023 Wimbledon, 15 months ago.

Match moments: On Friday, both players made regular forays to the net, and it was Gauff who built an initial 4-2 lead. Burel, though, won the next three games and charged to her set point at 5-4.

But Burel misfired on her opportunity, sending a volley out at the end of a rally, and Gauff escaped danger with a break for 5-5. At 6-5, Gauff needed four set points of her own before clinching the opening set, breaking serve with an error-forcing backhand.

In the second set, Gauff moved ahead for good after Burel double faulted down break point at 4-3. Serving for victory at 5-3, Gauff evaded two break points, and she reached match point with an ace. Gauff closed out the win after a Burel backhand found the net.

Gauff racked up 17 break points in the match, converting five of those chances. The American had 20 winners to Burel’s 13, denying the Frenchwoman her second career Top 10 win.