Heather Watson moves into second round at Hong Kong Open
Tuesday 13 October 2015 12:28, UK
British No 2 Heather Watson had to battle through three sets to beat China's Kai-Lin Zhang in the first round of the Hong Kong Open.
Watson dropped her serve three times as Zhang took the opening set 6-3 despite not serving her first ace until the third game of the second set - in which the Briton nevertheless broke to take the lead.
It was part of a sequence of seven straight games for the Guernsey native, who broke twice more in taking the set 6-1 and then saved three break points in the first game of the third set.
She broke again in the fourth game of the decider and saved several more break points in the next, which she eventually won with three straight aces to take a 4-1 lead.
Zhang eventually got another game on the board but a final break earned Watson a 3-6 6-1 6-2 win in two hours and seven minutes.
Elsewhere on Tuesday it was a good day for the seeds in action, with fourth-ranked Jelena Jankovic easing past Ana Bogdan of Romania 6-4 6-2.
Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia, seeded seven, beat America's Lauren Davis 6-1 6-3 and fifth-seed Samantha Stosur defeated Japan's Risa Ozaki 6-3 6-1.
