Williams saves match point to clinch win

A PUMPED-UP Serena Williams drew on all her battling qualities to get past Vera Dushevina into the third round of the Madrid Open, coming back from a set down and saving a match point for a 6-7, 7-6, 7-6 success.

The American world No 1, who won her 12th grand slam title at January's Australian Open before injury sidelined her for three months, looked to be on her way out of the clay event yesterday when the unseeded Russian held a match point at 6-5 in the second set.

Berating herself and appealing to watching coach and father Richard Williams throughout the match, she clawed her way back and took the deciding set despite having a long treatment break for what appeared to be right thigh and lower back problems.

Serena squandered one match point with a wild backhand at 6-4 in the third-set tiebreak, but a ninth ace on the next point prompted a bellow of delight from the pink-clad 28-year-old after almost three and a half hours of play.

"When I shout like that it's just to get energised," said Williams, who could meet Russian sixth seed Elena Dementieva in the last eight. "I really try to get myself going. I need energy and I need emotion to help me play better."

Williams, who had a bye into the second round, avoided the fate of three other grand slam champions, Justine Henin, Maria Sharapova and Svetlana Kuznetsova, who all lost their opening matches to exit in the first round.

"I definitely wasn't playing my best tennis and I was far off from playing well but after three hours I thought I had better win," said Williams, who will be bidding for a second French Open crown in Paris starting this month.

Andy Murray, seeded three, is also in Madrid for the men's tournament and will play either Pablo Cuevas or qualifier Juan Ignacio Chela in the second round (the match is scheduled for tomorrow) having received a bye in the opening round. If he gets past that match, Murray could next come up against 14th seed Sam Querrey, who on Sunday became the first American winner of a European clay-court event in seven years when he won the Serbia Open.

In the quarter-finals, Murray could then face either the in-form David Ferrer or Marin Cilic, before a possible showdown with world No 1 and defending champion Roger Federer in the semi-finals. But Murray said: "I've not made it past the second round or won two matches in a tournament for the last three or four so it's totally pointless for me to look any further in front.

"I just want to play well. If I play well then I'll be happy."