Melbourne: Russia's Maria Sharapova overcame sweltering conditions and a stubborn Karin Knapp of Italy to reach the Australian Open third round on Thursday with a 6-3 4-6 10-8 victory.
Sidelined from the latter part of last season with an injury to her right shoulder, the third seeded Sharapova had trouble with her serve and made 12 double faults as Knapp broke six times in temperatures in excess of 41 Celsius (106 Fahrenheit).
The 2008 champion struggled to temper her impulse to blast winners on every shot which resulted in 67 unforced errors.
Sharapova held three match points while serving for victory in the 10th game, only for Knapp to storm back and prolong the Russian's frustration before she sealed the win in three hours, 28 minutes.
She will play 25th seed Alize Cornet of France in the third round.
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