Samantha Stosur survived another midnight encounter to reach the third round of the Madrid Masters with a tough three-set win over American teenager Christina McHale.
The Australian fifth seed struggled with her serve in the first two sets and was broken twice in each, but found her range in the decider to claim a 2-6 6-4 6-0 victory in just under two hours.
The fifth-seeded Stosur, accustomed to late finishes after her series of midnight epics at last year’s US Open, came alive when she really needed it, reeling off eight straight games to finish McHale off.
“I knew it was going to be a late day, but I certainly didn’t think we would start at 10 o’clock and finish up at midnight,” Stosur said.
“It was tough to get going at the start but once I got out of that second set, I felt pretty good out there.
“Christina played very well. She was serving well and taking the ball early off the ground. She really had me moving today. It was a tough one.”
Stosur next faces Czech Petra Cetkovska, who ousted Spanish qualifier Lourdes Dominguez Lino 6-4 7-5.
Stosur beat Cetkovska in their only previous meeting earlier this year in Doha.
“Which is a nice thing to know in the back of your mind,” the Australian said.
“But it’s a totally different scenario this time. She’s had a nice last few years. She’s playing well.”
Seven-times grand slam winner Venus Williams isn’t playing so well and went down 6-4 6-1 to German 12th seed Angelique Kerber.
This year, auto-immune disease-sufferer Williams has pulled out of both the Australian Open and the Malaysian Open, before reaching the quarter-finals in Miami and Charleston.
But her sister Serena Williams went through 6-3 6-1 in her opening match against Russia’s Elena Vesnina.
Reigning champion Petra Kvitova kick-started her title defence with a 6-2 6-3 defeat of New Zealand’s Marina Erakovic.
There was also smooth progress for China’s French Open champion Li Na, who beat Spanish hope Silvia Soler-Espinosa 6-3 6-1.
Men’s top seed Novak Djokovic, meanwhile, slammed tennis chiefs for not consulting players over the controversial new blue surface in Madrid.
Djokovic said “all players” hoped it would not cause injuries.
“The hope of all players is that we won’t have injuries and have a decent week of tennis,” said the Monte Carlo Masters finalist, who skipped the ATP event in Belgrade last week after the death of his grandfather.
Djokovic joined Rafael Nadal in criticising ATP chiefs for a lack of consultation.
The ATP has had stormy relations with players in recent months and has faced strike calls over their share of grand slam profits.
“The only disappointing thing from a player standpoint is that it was decided without players agreeing to it,” Djokovic said.
“Players should be agreeing to the change – there should be some value in what they say.
“I’m not blaming the tournament, it is fighting for its own interests. But the ATP should have done a better job on player rights in protecting what the players want.”
The proposal from larger-than-life billionaire Madrid impresario Ion Tiriac is on a one-year trial, with the event saying its purpose is to help spectators see the yellow ball more clearly on the blue surface.
