Great Britain's James Ward booked his place in round two of the Dubai Tennis Championships with a 2-6 6-4 7-6 victory over Teymuraz Gabashvili this afternoon.
World number 60 Gabashvili gained the initiative early on, breaking Ward on two occasions on his way to claiming the opening set.
However, Ward, who is ranked 177 in ATP standings, rallied in the second set, and it ensured that a decider would be required.
The Brit raced into a 5-1 advantage in the third set, but he then went on to lose five games in succession, but was still able to force the contest into a tie-breaker.
Ward went on to spurn two match points, before making his advantage count at the third time of asking to win 8-6.
The 27-year-old will now face number six seed Mikhail Youzhny for a place in the quarter-finals, the winner of which could take on Novak Djokovic.
Liam Apicella
