(Birmingham) Canada’s Rebecca Marino reached the quarter-finals of the Birmingham Grass Court Classic with a 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (1) win over American Emina Bektas.
Marino needed 2 hours 15 minutes to defeat her rival, ruling out a rain stoppage.
The 32-year-old Vancouverite hammered 21 aces and won 73.4% of the points contested on her first serve.
Marino saved three match points when 150-ranked Bektase in the world, served at 5-4 in the final set.
Each player broke her rival’s serve four times during the match, but Marino came out on top with her brilliance in the final tiebreaker.
In the quarter-finals, Marino, 90e in the WTA rankings, will face the Chinese Lin Zhu, 39e.