Erakovic battles into second round at Wimbledon

Marina Erakovic has shown plenty of grit to win her first round match at Wimbledon in a clash which took two hours and 33 minutes.

The 28-year-old won 4-6 6-3 10-8 over her American opponent Irina Falconi with multiple breaks of serve at the end of the third set making the result uncertain until the Kiwi forced her opponent to make a backhand error to seal the match.

Overall Erakovic had less unforced errors than Falconi with 35 compared to the Americans 49 and gained five service breaks out of 14 opportunities.

Its the first win for Erakovic in a Grand Slam singles match since the US Open in 2014.

Erakovic will play either former world No.1 Jelena Jankovic (Serbia) or Swiss player Stefanie Voegele in the second round.

- This story has been automatically published using a media release from New Zealand Tennis