Emma Raducanu overcame a brief wobble to book her spot in the second round of the Italian Open with a three-set win over Maya Joint.
Raducanu will now meet world No 20 Ekaterina Alexandrova after seeing off the 19-year-old Australian 7-5 6-7 (1) 6-3 in Rome.
The former US Open winner came within two points of finishing things off in straight sets but was steamrollered 7-1 in the second-set tie-break to set up a decider.
It looked like being a nervy finish at the SuperTennis Arena but the Briton found her mojo again, going 5-0 ahead in the third before wrapping things up in two hours and 44 minutes.
Watched on by mentor Jane O’Donoghue, with recently installed coach Mark Petchey unavailable due to broadcast commitments, Raducanu was a worthy winner overall but will need to recreate her best moments more often to get past Alexandrova.
Raducanu looked to impose herself from the outset, seeking out powerful winners and taking her first service game without conceding.
She somehow failed to convert four break points at the next attempt and, after a couple of self-imposed errors on her own serve, found her opponent in less forgiving mood.
A break down at 4-2, Raducanu showed resolve to break back immediately and sealed a second break with a backhand winner before holding for the set.
The Briton made it four games in a row as she started the second set in control, breaking at first ask then holding to love. Joint briefly got back on level terms but was finding Raducanu’s return too hot to handle, buckling as the second of three break points came good.
Two double faults in the eighth game gave Joint another chance to scrub the deficit but four successive points got Raducanu out of trouble.
That ruthless streak deserted her as she allowed Joint to escape another break from 0-30 then came within two points of serving for the match only to slip back to stalemate. Joint was electric in the tie-break, winning the first five points to flip the momentum.
Raducanu took a break and emerged with a new lease of life, taking five consecutive games to move herself back to the brink of victory. She was made to wait by a spirited fightback but finished with a punchy service game, smiling widely as her opponent cleared the baseline with the final shot of the match.
Earlier, Cameron Norrie made the most of his second chance after beating Christopher O’Connell.
Norrie was beaten in the final round of qualifying by Dusan Lajovic on Tuesday but made it into the main draw after being picked as the lucky loser.
And he took advantage of his reprieve as he beat Australian O’Connell 6-3 6-2 to set up a second-round tie with former world No 1 Daniil Medvedev.
“I lost a match yesterday where I really didn’t play well… after the match I was completely devastated,” Norrie told Sky Sports. “It was nice to have another chance. It’s not often you get the chance to get some revenge the next day.”
Meanwhile, Katie Boulter’s status as British No 1 is under threat after a first-round defeat to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
Clay is Boulter’s least favourite surface and it showed as she went down 6-3 6-3 to the 33-year-old Russian. The 28-year-old could be displaced by Raducanu or Sonay Kartal as the highest ranked Briton if either go deep in the Italian capital.
