(Photo credit: Jerry Lai)
Top-seeded Sorana Cirstea survived a three-hour, 10-minute test from Maria Timofeeva of Uzbekistan, pulling out a 7-6 (6), 1-6, 7-5 victory Tuesday in the first round of the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open.
Cirstea recovered from an early break in the opening set and eventually moved ahead 5-2 before Timofeeva rallied to force a tiebreaker. The Romanian escaped that 8-6, then won