Johanna Konta put a difficult weekend behind her to reach the second round of the Porsche Grand Prix in Stuttgart.
The British number one travelled to Germany from Constanta, where she left the court in tears and was accused of gamesmanship during Great Britain's fiery Fed Cup play-off against Romania.
Konta did not find things easy against teenager Naomi Osaka but took advantage of her opponent's physical struggles to run away with the third set and triumph 7-6 (7/5) 3-6 6-1.
Konta had not dropped a set in two previous meetings with 19-year-old Osaka but clay is her weakest surface.
The world number seven struggled for consistency in the opening two sets but the key moment came when she saved two break points in the third game of the third set.
Konta broke the Osaka serve in the next game and did not look back, with the Japanese-American becoming increasingly bothered by an abdominal injury.
Konta will face Latvia's Anastasija Sevastova in the second round.
The 25-year-old said on BT Sport: "I think obviously you could tell she was struggling, I hope everything is okay with her and she recovers quickly.
"It was just important for me to stay on my own game. Even though I lost the second set I didn't feel like I did much wrong."
Source: PA
