Samantha Stosur has advanced to the second round of the Connecticut Open with a hard-fought victory over Japan’s Kurumi Nara.

Less than a week after pushing world No.1 Serena Williams to the limit at a WTA tournament in Cincinnati, the Australian battled Nara for nearly two hours and 40 minutes to win her opening match 7-6 (7-5) 6-7 (10-12) 6-2 on Monday.

She next faces rising star Eugenie Bouchard, who dispatched Serbia’s Bojana Jovanovski in the first round of the pre-US Open hardcourt tournament.

The world No.8 needed just 52 minutes to beat Jovanovski 6-1 6-1, winning the first seven points of the match.

Stosur last played Bouchard in the 2013 Osaka final, which she won. She retired from their first clash in Charleston earlier that year.

In some of the day’s other matches, Germany’s Kirsten Flipkens toppled Misaki Doi of Japan, Peng Shuai bettered Elina Svitolina and Italian seventh seed Sara Errani went down to Spain’s Garbine Muguruza.