The Serbian top seed lost 7-6 (11-9) 7-5 in one hour, 47 minutes in what was the first ever meeting between the two.
BBC Sport website, March 3, 2017
This is a rotten sentence.
- ‘in what was the . . .’ Such an ugly construction, and unnecessary – ‘in the . . .’ is all that’s needed.
- ‘the first ever’: Another unnecessary word – ‘the first’ is perfectly adequate.
This gives you
The Serbian top seed lost 7-6 (11-9) 7-5 in one hour 47 minutes in the first meeting between the two.
which is shorter and cleaner (I have also lost the superfluous comma). I would be tempted to turn it round like this
In the first meeting between the two, the Serbian top seed lost 7-6 (11-9) 7-5 in one hour 47 minutes.
which I think is more elegant.