Watson rallies to win WTA Monterrey title

MEXICO CITY — Britain’s Heather Watson rallied to defeat Belgium’s Kirsten Flipkens 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 Sunday to win the WTA Monterrey Open final for her third career crown. Watson’s prior WTA singles titles came in 2012 at Osaka and last year at Hobart. The 25-year-old Englishwoman, ranked 84th in the world, took her first victory in three meetings with the 73rd-rated Belgian, having lost in the second round at Indian Wells in 2011 and round one at Washington in 2014. Watson fired seven aces, six of them in dropping the opening set, before fighting back to win after one hour and 57 minutes. Flipkens, 30, lost a chance for her second career WTA crown, the first having come in 2012 at Quebec City. Djokovic, Murray set-up Davis blockbuster Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray spent almost 10 hours on court between them Sunday as they steered Serbia and Great Britain into a blockbuster Davis Cup quarter-final showdown. World No. 1 Djokovic needed four hours and 57 minutes to defeat Mikhail Kukushkin 6-7 (6-8), 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 to pull Serbia level at 2-2 with Kazakhstan in Belgrade. Viktor Troicki then beat world No. 200 Aleksandr Nedovyesov 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 to put 2010 champion Serbia into a July 15-17 quarterfinal with defending champion Great Britain. Djokovic hit 19 aces and 37 winners but committed 94 unforced errors in his epic win over Kukushkin. “This was one of the most difficult matches in my career both physically and mentally,” said 28-year-old Djokovic, who again was feeling the effects of a shoulder twinge. World No. 2 Murray needed four hours 55 minutes in Birmingham to defeat Kei Nishikori 7-5, 7-6 (8-6), 3-6, 4-6, 6-3 in another epic duel as his side took an unbeatable 3-1 lead over Japan. In Melbourne, record 32-time winner United States wrapped up a 3-1 win over Australia. Croatia, the 2005 champions, needed a final rubber to defeat last year’s runner-up Belgium in Liege. Italy, the 1976 champion, had already made sure of its last-eight place Saturday against 2014 winner Switzerland, playing without Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka, in Pesaro. It completed a 5-0 rout Sunday and will face Argentina for a semifinal spot. The remaining quarterfinal will see France, which swamped Canada 5-0, take on 2012 and 2013 champion the Czech Republic, which defeated Germany 3-2 in Hanover. — Agencies