Second seed Amelie Mauresmo of France overcame a slow start to defeat Russian teenager Dinara Safina 2-6, 6-1, 6-0 in the second round of the Australian Open on Wednesday.
Mauresmo, a finalist in Melbourne in 1999, outlasted Safina in a 110-minute match played in scorching temperatures on Melbourne Park's Vodafone Arena.
World number 44, Safina, raced through the first set, dictating play and breaking Mauresmo's serve twice to take a 4-0 lead as the powerful Frenchwoman sprayed the court with forehand and backhand errors.
But Safina, the younger sister of former world number one Marat Safin, wilted in the Melbourne heat and allowed Mauresmo back into the match.
"I had a pretty slow start, I would say," Mauresmo said.
"My legs were not really moving very well. And then ... she played a good first set," the 25-year-old said.
With temperatures pushing towards 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit), the players were allowed a 10-minute heat break after Mauresmo fought back to win the second set.
The tide had turned against Safina when play resumed and she was unable to hold serve against a rejuvenated Mauresmo, who will play Serb Ana Ivanovic in the third round.
Ivanovic beat Russian Maria Kirilenko 6-1, 6-1.
Mauresmo said the conditions had been tough but believed her superior fitness had made an important difference.
"I felt really that I was taking control of the game, that she was going down a little bit physically also," she said.
"It was a tough one, in hot conditions," Mauresmo said.
A teenage Mauresmo was soundly beaten by Martina Hingis in the 1999 final and remains without a Grand Slam title despite holding the world number one ranking last year.
Melbourne was also the only time that she has reached a Grand Slam final but bookmakers this year rate her a good chance in an injury-depleted tournament.
With the tournament missing last year's finalists, Belgian champion Justine Henin-Hardenne and compatriot Kim Clijsters, Mauresmo may never have a better chance to rid herself of her reputation for choking in big matches.
Mauresmo missed an warm-up exhibition tournament because of a stomach muscle injury and has had heavy strapping on her thigh in the opening two rounds but said she was happy with her fitness.
"I already feel not too bad physically even though at the beginning I think my energy wasn't really there," she said.
ZVONAREVA DUMPED
Ninth seeded Russian Vera Zvonareva paid the price for clumsy serving when she was dumped out of the Australian Open on Wednesday, beaten 6-3, 6-3 by unseeded compatriot Vera Douchevina in the second round.
The world number 11 lost a surprisingly lopsided match to her 18-year-old opponent in only 61 minutes on showcourt three at Melbourne Park.
Zvonareva gifted the 2002 junior Wimbledon champion the biggest win of her senior career by serving 11 double faults, the last of them on match point.
A French Open quarter-finalist in 2003, Zvonareva also produced 27 unforced errors in an untidy performance.
Douchevina, ranked 65, matched her performance at last year's U.S. Open by reaching the third round and will play either 17th seed Fabiola Zuluaga of Colombia or unseeded German Anna-Lena Groenefeld.
