Melanie South became only the third Briton to reach the quarter-finals of the DFS Classic when she recovered from a poor start to register a 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Aiko Nakamura, the No17 seed, at Edgbaston Priory yesterday.
After seeing off Sybille Bammer, the fourth seed, in the second round, the 22-year-old from Surrey is beginning to enjoy herself. Next up is Yanina Wickmayer, the Belgian who beat Michaella Krajicek, the No8 seed, yesterday.
After three days of glorious sunshine, prolonged downpours delayed the start, forcing a change of schedule that left South to kick her heels until the action resumed on Centre Court midway through the afternoon. She made a slow start against Nakamura, who is 5ft 4in and is ranked 76 places above South at 78 in the world, but grew in confidence after losing the first set, not conceding another service break to wrap up the match.
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