Katie Volynets narrowly defeated Arantxa Rus 6-2, 6-7 (6), 7-6 (6) at the Charleston Open on Monday, in a match that lasted 3 hours and 43 minutes, marking it as the longest match of the year on the WTA Tour.
Volynets, a 22-year-old player from California ranked 110th, had to go through qualifying rounds to enter the tournament.
Now, she is set to face 10th-seeded Emma Navarro, whose father is the owner of the clay-court tournament in Charleston and the stadium where the event is held.
On Day 1, Amanda Anisimova, a semifinalist at the 2019 French Open, returned to the tour for the first time since the Australian Open in January and displayed strong form in a 6-3, 6-0 victory over Alizé Cornet.
Anisimova faces a tougher challenge next, as she meets No. 1 seed Jessica Pegula in the second round, who had a bye in the opening round.
In other first-round matches, Caroline Wozniacki, the 2018 Australian Open champion, dominated qualifier McCartney Kessler 6-0, 6-1, Magda Linette defeated Petra Martić 6-3, 6-4, Shelby Rogers triumphed over Claire Liu 6-1, 6-1, and qualifier Varvara Gracheva beat wild-card entry Clervie Ngounoue 6-2, 6-1.
