WHAT is it with Yuriko Lily Miyazaki and long matches at the Lexus Ilkley Trophy?

Last year the British wild card lost 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-1 to fifth seed Aliona Bolsova (Spain) in the first round, and the year before she defeated second seed Kristina Mladenovic 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-4 in round one before losing to fellow British wild card Sonay Kartal 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.

But nothing bettered Miyazaki’s effort yesterday (Tuesday) in the first round of the $100,000 ITF Women’s World Tour event when the 19-year-old beat experienced Romanian Elena-Gabriela Ruse 2-6, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (3) in 2hr 47min.

Ruse, 26, dominated the first set, with Japanese-born Miyazaki only winning 25 per cent of points on her first serve and 17 per cent on her second compared to Ruse’s 68 per cent on first and 30 per cent on second.

The Romanian also won all three of her break points, but Miyazaki is nothing if not a fighter and although Ruse again capitalised on her only break point, the Briton converted one of her six to force a tie-break, which she won 9-7.

By the time the third set was underway, Miyazaki had got into Ruse’s head, converting two of her seven break points while Ruse was successful in two of her three before completing a very hard-fought win.

Again the final set went to a tie-break, which Miyazaki won 7-3 in a victory that was as close as their rankings suggested, with Ruse 145 in the world and Miyazaki 150.

“I didn’t play my best tennis in the first set,” admitted Miyazaki afterwards, “but I told myself that I could play better and trusted myself to keep believing that my level was there and that I could turn it around.

“I played a couple of long three-setters on this court a couple of years ago, but this was one of my toughest battles on grass, and there is something about Ilkley and long matches!”

Miyazaki added: “She was playing quite fast in the first set and I wasn’t able to deal with her shots, but I played better in the last two sets, got in the points a bit more and dictated.

“I also managed to serve a bit better and return a bit better, and she was getting a little bit frustrated, but she is a great fighter so I just told myself to stay tough.

“I really like grass as it suits my game and as long as I can serve well I tend to play well.”

The win was a pleasant change for Miyazaki as she had lost in the opening rounds of both Surbiton and Nottingham, and she now has an Ilkley re-match against 2022 semi-finalist Kartal, who also defeated her two years ago at Surbiton.

Kartal defeated Australian qualifier Destanee Aiava 6-3, 7-6 (4), but there was no victory for a third Briton, with 15-year-old Hannah Klugman falling 6-2, 7-6 (6) to France’s Chloe Paquet.

Miyazaki’s match against Kartal is scheduled for tomorrow, but other British women in action today are Mingge Xu against Thai qualifier Lanlana Tararudee, and qualifier Ranah Akua Stoiber against French Open girls’ champion Renata Jamrichova.

There was also British success among the men, with 19-year-old wild card Arthur Fery defeating Croatian qualifier Duje Ajdukovic 6-4, 7-6 (2) in the 148,625 euros ATP Challenger Tour event.

Fery said: “I was quite happy with my performance and managed to get going from the start and I was serving well.”

Like Miyazaki, this was Fery’s first win on grass this season after defeats in the past two weeks, and he admitted: “It has been pretty challenging as I was not far from winning my first round last week (he lost 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 to fellow Briton Jack Pinnington Jones at Nottingham) so I was happy to close it out here.”

Fery, who is world ranked 249, was giving away 113 places to 23-year-old Ajdukovic, and said: “Everyone here is good and I knew that it would be a tough draw regardless, so it was a good win.

“He was getting wound up, so that was a good thing for me, but you just have to put it out of your head and he served very well, but I took my chances when it mattered.”

Fery added: “The grass court season is super important - playing in British tournaments in front of family and friends, so there is a lot at stake and hopefully I can do well this week and in the next two weeks.”

Next up is a match against second seed Lloyd Harris, from South Africa, and Fery said: “He has played well over the past few months, but I am up for the challenge and grass suits my style of play.”

Fellow Briton Charles Broom opens up proceedings on Centre Court today with a delayed first-round match against the experienced Mikhail Kukushkin, which was poised at game-all when the latest of a series of seemingly never-ending showers hit Ilkley.

Meanwhile, British wild card Ryan Peniston faces Lukas Klein, of the Slovak Republic, in another delayed last-32 clash.