James Ward has progressed through to the main draw of the Cincinnati Open after coming through a closely-fought contest against Paul-Henri Mathieu.

The British number two had beaten world number 78 Tobias Kamke to make the final round, but he looked like dropping the opening set against Mathieu after falling 5-1 behind in a tie-break.

However, Ward saved numerous set points before taking it 10-8, but he couldn't retain his momentum as he dropped serve at the start of the second.

Mathieu quickly moved into a 4-2 advantage, but again Ward fought back to earn two match points at 5-4, only to fail to convert as the Frenchman dug deep to keep his chances alive.

Ward wasted more match points at 6-5, but he finally sealed his place in the main draw with a 7-6 7-5 triumph.