Birrell fights back past Marcinko in US Open first round

Kimberly Birrell recovered from a set down to beat Petra Marcinko 3-6 7-6 6-3 in the US Open first round. The Croatian took the opener behind a punishing first ball, winning 69.6 percent of those points and striking five aces, but she landed only 48.9 percent of her first serves and that unreliability eventually told. Birrell was steadier from the ground and got her own first delivery in 59.3 percent of the time, winning 61.2 percent of those points, enough to edge the second-set tiebreak. Twelve double faults from the Australian and ten from Marcinko underlined a scrappy afternoon, yet Birrell walked away with a place in the second round.