Heather Watson beats Arantxa Rus in three-hour marathon at Miami Open, Harriet Dart loses in qualifying

Heather Watson fought back from 4-1 down in the second set to beat world No.75 Arantxa Rus in a marathon first-round clash at the Miami Open.

British No.3 Watson rallied to overcome Rus 6-7(5) 7-5 6-4 in three hours and 26 minutes.

Watson will face world No.20 Elina Svitolina in the second round.

Watson was broken in the opening game of the match against Rus but hit back to lead 5-3 in the first set.

Rus won three games in a row to take the set to a tie-break, which she edged 7-5.

Watson, who made the last 16 of the WTA 1000 event in 2016, looked to be heading for defeat at 4-1 down in the second set, only to roar back and force a deciding set.

Both players were broken twice as the match went beyond three hours.

It was Watson who made the crucial break at 4-4, though, and then managed to serve it out and book her place in the next round.

Harriet Dart, Liam Broady and Jay Clarke missed out on a place in the main draw after losing in qualifying.

Dart, who made the fourth round of Indian Wells last week, was beaten 6-3 6-3 by German opponent Tatjana Maria.

Broady lost to American Christopher Eubanks 6-4 6-2 while Clarke went down 6-2 6-1 against Bjorn Fratangelo.

Andy Murray plays his opening match against Federico Delbonis on Wednesday, with world No.2 Daniil Medvedev awaiting in the second round.

Emma Raducanu, Cameron Norrie and Dan Evans all have first-round byes.