Sharapova battles past Lee-Waters

January 19, 2005 12:52 IST

Wimbledon champion 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 looked in trouble when she dropped the first set but dug deep, hitting eight aces as she recovered to clinch victory in one hour, 47 minutes.

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.

An early break in the second set put the 17-year-old back on track and she held on in the third, winning on her sixth match point.

She will meet Li Na of China in the third round.

Source: REUTERS
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