Sharapova escapes scare as heat takes its toll

Russian top seed Maria Sharapova survived a massive scare before beating Camille Pin in sapping heat at the Australian Open amid tightened security after violence marred the opening day here. She could scarcely believe the scrap she had been drawn into in the scorching conditions and struggled to keep cool before finally taming France's Camille Pin 6-3 4-6 9-7 in just under three hours.

But it was heavy going as Sharapova, red-faced, dripping sweat and swearing at the umpire, stumbled through the second set before a new burst of energy carried her 5-0 clear in the third.

But she was clearly feeling the heat and started cramping, dropping the next five games. The courageous Pin fought back to serve for the match at 7-6 before Sharapova dug deep to snatch victory.



"It was one of the toughest matches I've played here," said Sharapova, adding that midway through the second set she started getting "a pinch" in her stomach.

"It's definitely not my best tennis. I was so delusional I couldn't think."

She said she won because, "I am not a quitter. I'm not going to stop because of the heat."

The extreme heat policy came into effect midway through her match. While play on outside courts is halted when the mercury hits 35 Celsius, games in the Rod Laver Arena have to finish before the roof can be closed.