Kiwi tennis No 1 Marina Erakovic has secured a place in the singles main draw of the WTA Premier Tournament in Cincinnati.
Erakovic beat Britain's Heather Watson in an epic see-saw battle in two hours 32 minutes 6-4 6-7(4) 6-3 in the final round of singles qualifying this morning (Mon, NZT) and will now come up against Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro in the first round.
Suarez Navarro has a current WTA ranking of 19, while Erakovic is ranked 77th in the world.
The pair have played once previously with Suarez Navarro the winning in straight sets on clay in Portugal earlier this year.
In doubles, Erakovic and regular doubles partner, Cara Black, will face the German pair of Angelique Kerber and Andrea Petkovic in the first round of the main draw.
