Katie Volynets barely got past Arantxa Rus 6-2, 6-7 (6), 7-6 (6) at the Charleston Open on Monday in 3 hours, 43 minutes, making it the longest match of the year on the WTA Tour.
Volynets is a 22-year-old from California who is currently ranked 110th and needed to go through qualifying rounds to get into the field.
Now she will face 10th-seeded Emma Navarro, whose father owns the clay-court tournament in Charleston and the stadium that hosts the event.
Also on Day 1, 2019 French Open semifinalist Amanda Anisimova played on tour for the first time since losing to eventual champion Aryna Sabalenka at the Australian Open on Jan. 20, and looked to be in strong form during a 6-3, 6-0 victory over Alizé Cornet.
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Next comes a tougher challenger for Anisimova: A second-round contest against No. 1 seed Jessica Pegula, who received an opening bye.
In other first-round results, 2018 Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki eliminated qualifier McCartney Kessler 6-0, 6-1, Magda Linette got past Petra Martić 6-3, 6-4, Shelby Rogers beat Claire Liu 6-1, 6-1, and qualifier Varvara Gracheva defeated wild-card entry Clervie Ngounoue 6-2, 6-1.
