Melanie South of Surrey achieved her best Sony Ericsson WTA Tour result on Tuesday when she defeated No.4 seed Sybille Bammer of Austria in the second round of the DFS Classic in Birmingham.
South, the British No.4 and ranked No.154 in the world, overcame Bammer, the world No.28, in straight sets, 6-3, 7-5. It is the first time since Julie Pullin in 2002 that a British woman has progressed to the third round of the tournament.
"I did have some nerves in the second set when I was behind but I just kept looking forward and being aggressive and that really got me through," said South who trained in Sydney for three weeks during the off season.
"I didn't serve well but everything else worked. I fought hard and did well to serve out the match in the end."
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