Heather Watson edged Kamilla Rakhimova 7-6, 7-6 in Washington, winning both sets in tiebreaks. The British player’s serve held up under pressure: she saved 9 of 13 break points overall, while Rakhimova saved only 2 of 6.
The first set saw four breaks from 1-0 to 5-5, including Watson breaking back immediately at 1-1 and again at 5-5. Watson took the tiebreak. In the second set, Rakhimova broke to lead 2-0, but Watson broke back at 2-1 and again at 3-4 to go up 3-4. Despite facing 10 break points, Watson saved eight (80%) and survived a late break at 5-5 for 5-6 before Rakhimova broke back at 6-6. Watson then claimed the tiebreak.
Watson fired eight aces (six in the second set) and won 51 service points. Rakhimova actually won more receiver points (41 to 35) but could not convert key chances when it mattered most.