Ninth seeded New Zealander Joelle King battled to a four-set win over Japan's Misaki Kobayasji in the first round of the Hong Kong Squash Open.
It took 47 minutes for King to beat qualifier Kobayasji 11-8 11-6 10-12 12-10. She now plays eighth seeded Annie Au (Hong Kong) in the second round.
New Zealand teammate Jaclyn Hawkes had a slightly easier game, downing English qualifier Tania Bailey 11-2 12-10 11-8 in 33 minutes to set up a second round clash with No.3 seed Rachael Grinham (Australia).
In the men's draw, New Zealand qualifier Martin Knight lost to world No.1 Nick Matthew (England) 11-6 11-4 11-7 in 41 minutes.
NZN