Rising Australian star Maya Joint didn't look well today on the court and appeared to be heading toward a surprise Hong Kong first-round exit, but then stormed back to beat 208th-ranked Anastasija Sevastova 2-6 6-4 6-3.
Joint, who is seeded at No. 5 in her debut at the WTA 250 tournament in Hong Kong, lost her serve three times en route to dropping the first set. Soon, it went from bad to worse for the reigning Eastbourne champion after former world No. 11 Sevastova claimed an early second-set break and opened a 3-1 lead.
After holding to her serve in the fifth game and reducing the deficit to 2-3, Joint and her rival were sent to the locker room because rain started to fall.
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However, it wasn't a really long break since the two players returned to the court around 20 minutes later.
Joint pulled off a big comeback when the play resumed
When the action resumed, Sevastova served out the sixth game and went 4-2 up. From that moment on, it was all Joint on the court as the 19-year-old Australian claimed back-to-back breaks and won the next four games to overturn the deficit and send the match into a decider.
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The No. 5 seed then also went 3-1 up early in the third set, and then just held on to her serve for the rest of the match to complete her comeback in an hour and 51 minutes of play.
In the Hong Kong round, Joint plays against 520th-ranked qualifier Viktoria Morvayova.
