Sharapova battles past Lee-Waters in Melbourne

Maria Sharapova needed all her battling qualities to reach the third round of the Australian Open on Wednesday, edging out unheralded American Lindsay Lee-Waters 4-6 6-0 6-3.


The fourth-seeded Russian had looked in trouble after dropping the first set but dug deep, hitting eight aces as she recovered to clinch victory in one hour, 47 minutes.


Sharapova admitted she'd been surprised by the form of her opponent.




"She played amazing in the first set, was moving side to side really well," the 17-year-old said.



"When an opponent plays with two hands on both sides, you try to move her a bit and try to get her on the run, but she was playing shots on the run that were just too good.



"It seemed like everything was going in. From my side, I was making too many errors. But I just tried to focus and mentally just tried to get myself in the match and pulled it through."



Lee-Waters, the world number 87, stunned Sharapova in the opening set with some excellent play, covering the court superbly and forcing the Russian into errors from the baseline.



But an early break in the second set put Sharapova back on track and she held on in the third, winning on her sixth match point.



Lee-Waters, 27, was a top-40 player in 1996 but, after taking time off the tour to have a daughter in 2001, she returned and in 2004 finished in the top 100 for the first time in nine years.



"It takes a lot of guts to get back out there," Sharapova said.



"A lot of credit to her for sure. To have a child and then to be able to come back and be on the tour and play so well is amazing."



Sharapova will play Li Na of China in the third round.