Laura Robson beats Magdalena Rybarikova at Madrid Open

Laura Robson fought back from a set down to earn a much-needed win over Slovakia's Magdalena Rybarikova in the first round of the Madrid Open.

The 19-year-old Briton won 6-7 (4-7) 6-2 6-2 against Rybarikova, ranked seven places lower at 48 in the world.

Robson, who had lost six of her previous eight WTA matches, avoided a seventh first-round loss this year.

She will face fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska or world number 51 Tsvetana Pironkova in round two on the clay.

After a poor run of form since reaching the third round of the Australian Open, Robson recovered well from losing a first set she almost rescued.

The teenager got back from two breaks down to lead 6-5, only to lose out in the tie-break.

That might have been a blow to her fragile confidence, but Robson took the initiative by reeling off eight games in a row to win the second set and lead 4-0 in the decider.

Her serve, so often a weakness recently, got better as the match progressed and she saw out the win after two hours and 13 minutes to reach the last 32.

Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova are the top seeds in Madrid, with the Russian able to replace the American as world number one by winning the tournament.

The men's event is a Masters 1000 and sees Roger Federer play his first clay-court event of 2013 after a two-month break, with Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray all vying for the title.