Watson ends Miami drought in marathon match

Heather Watson fought back from a set and 4-1 down to beat Arantxa Rus 6-7(5),7-5,6-4 in a three and a half hour marathon in the Miami Open

The British No. 3 was broken in the opening game of the match against Rus but came back to lead 5-3 in the first set.

Rus the world No. 75 won three games in a row to take the set to a tie-break, which she took 7-5.

Watson, looked to be heading out at 4-1 down in the second set, but turned it round to take the match into a deciding set.

As the clock went past three hours both players broke twice but it was Watson who made the crucial break at 4-4, and managed to serve it out to set up a second round match against Ukranian Elina Svitolina the World No. 20

World No. 115 Watson reached the fourth round here in 2016 but has not won a main-draw match at the  Miami tournament since.

Roger Parker

Recent Posts

Fritz calmly holds off Dimitrov in Rome

No-drama Taylor Fritz saved all 11 break points he faced and threw down 13 aces in…

2 hours ago

Swiatek wins fight to the finish against feisty Kerber

Iga Swiatek came through a struggle with a fellow No. 1 as the top seed…

24 hours ago

Tsitsipas tickled by efficient Rome win

Stefanos Tsitsipas blasted through a tiebreaker to complete a satisfying 6-2, 7-6 win over Briton Cam…

1 day ago

Roland Garros could be a question mark now for Djokovic

Novak Djokovic may be forced to hit pause his Roland Garros planning, with the Serb…

2 days ago

Djokovic unsure if knock on the head led to Rome loss

Novak Djokovic fears that the knock on the head he suffered Friday night may have…

2 days ago

Sabalenka halts career loss streak against Yastremska

Aryna Sabalenka put a career loss streak against Dayana Yazstremska to bed as she handed…

2 days ago