Venus Williams survived a match point against Barbora Zahlavova Strycova on her way to booking a place in the quarter-finals of the Qatar Open.
Having gone to three sets against Australia's Casey Dellacqua in the opening round, world No.17 Williams was again taken the distance this time in a near three-hour slog.
Williams looked set for a routine win early in the third set, pulling away to a 5-3 lead before Zahlavova Strycova fought back, winning three straight games to go up 6-5, and in that game she brought up a match point with Williams serving at 30-40.
But Williams summoned one last burst of energy, winning three points in a row before sneaking out a tie-break to finish Zahlavova Strycova off, 7-5 3-6 7-6 (7-5).
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