Kiki Bertens saved a match point as she fought her way to a 3-6 7-6(5) 6-2 win over Taylor Townsend in the second round of Wimbledon.
The Dutchwoman, 27, reached the quarter-final last year, but she nearly suffered a much earlier exit this time around.
Bertens and Townsend matched each other in most departments in the opening set. They both served well and they both hit their groundstrokes.
The American won it thanks to three crucial moments. In game five, her Dutch opponent just missed with a short-angle backhand on break point. Then, in the next game, the World No.123 fought back from 40-0 down to win five points in a row and earn the only break of the set.
Townsend nearly lost her advantage when she fell 0-40 behind while serving for the set. However, she responded superbly by playing five aggressive points to turn the game around and clinch the opener 6-3.
The American continued her assault in the second set. She came to the net whenever possible to finish points and soon established a 2-0 lead.
Bertens battles back
Bertens is the World No.4 for a reason. She stayed in the set with two holds and then put pressure on Townsend in game six. The World No.123 saved one break point but the Dutchwoman seized the next one with forehand winner.
Bertens broke again to make a third set seem likely. Then her form suddenly deserted her. She made errors and missed serves to enable the American to break.
After Townsend held to level the score at 5-5, the set seemed to be heading for a tie-break. That is exactly where it ended up, but not in the way everyone expected.
The American played some good points to break for 6-5. But the Dutchwoman saved a match point and battled her way to a vital break to force the shoot-out.
Bertens did not give Townsend anything in the tie-break. She opened up a 6-3 lead and held off a revival from the American to take it 7-5.
The Dutchwoman’s survival in that second set proved crucial. She charged into a 4-0 lead in the decider and suddenly looked much more confident.
On the other side of the net, Townsend seemed understandably demoralised. She did not move with the same intent as in the previous sets and she appeared to have run out of ideas.
Despite this, the American stopped the rot with two holds to force Bertens to serve for it. She did that with ease, but she will be mightily relieved that she won the match.
In the next round, the World No.5 will play Barbora Strycova. The Czech beat Laura Siegemund 6-3 7-5.
Konta breezes through to round three
Johanna Konta set up an exciting third-round encounter with Sloane Stephens by producing a polished performance to beat Katerina Siniakova 6-3 6-4 on Centre Court.
The Brit, 28, served brilliantly throughout. She hit seven aces and won 40 of the 51 points played in her service games. She did not face a break point and she was never even taken to deuce.
This dominance on serve enabled Konta to swing freely when the Czech served. She almost broke in game two but Siniakova clung on. Then the World No.38 suffered a fall in game four and lost her serve shortly afterwards. It was all the Brit needed to win the set.
In the second set, Konta got the break she required in game seven and then clinically closed out the match on her serve. She will now attempt to beat Stephens for the third time in the space of two months.
