World number 3 Agnieszka Radwanska went through an unexpected tough battle in the first round at WTA Shenzhen Open as she survived 3 match points to edge home wild card Duan Yinging 6-2, 6-7(4), 7-4.
The Polish fared well at the beginning of the match before facing a solid come-back from Duan in the second set. The home player showed her great power and move to level the match with a 7-4 win in the tie-break.
Duan could have sealed the victory in the 10th game of decider, but all her 3 match points were saved by the defending champion. After breaking again in the 12th game, the top seed finally claimed her first vitory in the new season.
"The first match in any tournament is always difficult. I'm very happy to win today, because it is a really tough game. Duan played really well. Although her rank is not very high, her power and serve are pretty good," Radwanska told the press conference.
"I'm satified with my performance today because I have given out what I got in the winter training. I'm not as good as top players when facing key points. I was thinking too much when the match points came out," said the 103rd ranked home player.
No.2 seed, Simona Halep of Romania came back in the decider after a hiccup in the second set, outlasting former world number one, Serbia's Jelena Jankovic 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 to advance into the second round. It was also her seventh straight win over the 2008 US Open runner-up.
"I feel really good to win the game. It's a tough one and Jelena is a pretty good player, also former world number one. I know it won't be easy today. But I'm really happy to have this game at the beginning of the season, " said the 25-year-old.
Halep is going to play Katerina Siniakova of Czech Republic in the second round, who knocked out home star Peng Shuai in two straight sets 6-3, 7-5.
Beginning her first season as the top 10 player, 3rd-seeded Johanna Konta humiliated Turkish Cagla Buyukakcay 6-2, 6-0 within 56 minutes.
