Heather Watson has managed to survive three match points to produce a dramatic comeback win against Ksenia Pervak at the Australian Open.

Watson faced an uphill battle from the outset, losing the first two games before battling back to level in a pattern that would continue throughout the opening set.

Each time the British number one seemed to find a chink in Pervak's armour an unforced error would creep in, ultimately costing her a tight first set in the searing Melbourne heat.

Pervak quickly established a 2-0 lead in the second but once again Watson showed her battling qualities to claw her way back into contention.

Watson kept up the pressure and forced an error from her opponent to earn a set point, which she failed to take.

Pervak battled back to force a tie breaker, which saw Watson save three match points before turnings things around to win a marathon second set.

After a long break between sets Watson had the bit between her teeth and quickly built a 4-0 lead in the decider.

Despite cramping up towards the finish line, Watson started to fire forehand winners when it really mattered to secure an unlikely victory.

Watson served out the deciding set 6-2 to book a third-round clash with former Wimbledon finalist Agnieszka Radwanska on Friday.