Pliskova survives scare to reach 3rd round at Eastbourne

EASTBOURNE, England (AP) — Defending champion Karolina Pliskova survived a scare to beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova on Monday and reach the third round of the Eastbourne International tournament.

Pliskova had never lost a set to Pavlyuchenkova in five previous meetings but the Czech player struggled in the second set before prevailing 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.

Pliskova, who is seeded second, hit nine aces in the first set and seemed on her way to another comfortable victory.

However, Pavlyuchenkova broke immediately in the second set and, although the Russian was broken back, she broke Pliskova's serve again and two successive errors from her opponent saw her level the match.

But there was to be no upset as Pliskova broke in the third game of the third set and, after saving a break point in the next game, she never looked back.

Pliskova broke again in the final game, sealing the match when Pavlyuchenkova hit the ball long.

Later, Andy Murray continues his comeback when he faces Stan Wawrinka in the first round of the men's draw.

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