MX23RW : Thursday, July 4 06:54:46| >> :600:298230024:298230024:

Maria Sharapova: 'Determination pulled me through'

Second seed Maria Sharapova admits that she was fortunate to survive two match points before edging past world number 150 Alexandra Panova at the Australian Open.

Maria Sharapova has acknowledged that only her willingness to fight until the last point earned her a dramatic victory over Russian compatriot Alexandra Panova.

The second seed saved two match points against the world number 150 before prevailing 7-5 in a deciding set, but despite her win, the 2008 champion has admitted that she struggled for answers against an inspired performance from her opponent.

The 27-year-old told Eurosport: "Fight was the only thing that I had today. I made so many unforced errors and my first-serve percentage was really low, and she was serving really well and moving me around the court.

"I didn't have many answers apart from that I fought to the end and managed to win the last point."

Sharapova will play either 31st seed Zarina Diyas or Anna Schmiedlova in the last 32.

ID:200271: cacheID:200271:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:1511:No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Alexandra Panova in action on day three of the Australian Open on January 21, 2015
Read Next:
Panova credits "champion" Sharapova
>
rhs 2.0
Euro 2024 fixtures header
Friday, July 5
 
5pm
Quarter-Finals
Spain
vs.
Germany
 
8pm
Quarter-Finals
Portugal
vs.
France
Saturday, July 6
 
5pm
Tuesday, July 9
Wednesday, July 10
Sunday, July 14


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!