• China Open

Sharapova holds her nerve to overcome Pironkova

Maria Sharapova showed her mental strength as she battled past Tsvetana Pironkova © Getty Images

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Twelfth seed Maria Sharapova showed great nerve to hold off a spirited challenge from Tsvetana Pironkova and book her place in the second round of the China Open.

Both women struggled with their second serves, resulting in multiple break point opportunities. But it was Sharapova who showed her mettle on the big points to secure a hard-fought 6-4 7-6(5) victory in Beijing.

The Russian, who has won two titles to date this year, looked to dominate from the outset but Pironkova wasn't going to allow the three-time Grand Slam champion to have everything her own way and the crowd were treated to some fierce rallies.

Sharapova earned two breaks of serve which was enough to sneak the first set. The second proved to be a scrappy affair as both women broke three times apiece. A tiebreak was needed to settle matters, Sharapova digging deep to force a morale-boosting win.

There was a shock as Samantha Stosur, the fourth seed, was sent tumbling out of the tournament by Latvian qualifier Anastasija Sevastova.

Stosur appeared in cruise control as she confidently negotiated the first set 6-2 but Sevastova turned the screw in the second to edge it on a tiebreak.

In the decider, both players managed to break each other but Sevastova's serve was far more efficient. She had a first-serve percentage of 67 - winning 77% of those points - allowing her to focus her energies on forcing the decisive break to hand her the match.

Unseeded Gisela Dulko also caused a stir, knocking out the much-fancied Aravane Rezai 6-4 2-6 6-4.

Surprisingly, Rezai, seeded 14, won more points in the match than her opponent but Dulko upset the applecart by winning the crucial points at key times.

Thirteenth seed Nadia Petrova crushed Chinese wildcard Xinyun Han, while Petra Kvitova got the better of Italy's Flavia Pennetta.

Roberta Vinci took the scalp of tenth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova. The Italian took the game to her opponent and raced away with the first set before losing the second 6-2. However, she rallied in the decider, breaking the Russian once to seal a rousing win.

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