It took a while, but Sacha Jones eventually won her first-round singles match at the US$25,000 Configure Express Pro tennis Challenger at the Renouf Tennis Centre in Wellington yesterday.
Jones looked a bit off her game in the first set against teenage opponent Riko Sawayanagi from Japan who was ranked nearly 400 places below her in a 2 hour 25 minute contest which finished at 6-7 (2) 6-2 6-1 to the former Kiwi No1 who now represents Australia.
"I was surprisingly tense in the first set. I was unusually tense and my arm felt heavy, I don't know why. She was obviously a very good player as well, much better than her ranking would suggest. It was a relief to start playing better,'' said Jones ranked at 228.
"The first set you really wouldn't think I was much of a tennis player, no offence [to Sawayanagi] because she played pretty well.''
Jones now faces another Japanese player, Makoto Ninomiya, in the second round tomorrow. Ninomiya is ranked around 800.