• Rome Open

Schiavone scrapes through in Rome

A narrow escape for Francesca Schiavone, last year's French Open winner © Getty Images

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Rome Open seedings

Second seed Francesca Schiavone emerged unscathed from a gruelling third-round clash against Daniela Hantuchova at the Rome Open.

Schiavone's preparations for the French Open looked set to be disrupted when she surrendered the first set 6-2, but last year's Roland Garros winner battled hard to claim the next two frames 6-2 and 7-5 in a match that spanned two hours and 39 minutes.

World No. 5 Schiavone has endured a tough time on clay this year, falling before the quarter-final on each of her three tournaments to date. And her hard court season wasn't much better - the Italian's best result was a last-eight performance at the Australian Open, when she lost to Caroline Wozniacki.

Her woes looked set to continue when she struggled terribly with her serve in the first set, winning just three of 13 points on the second delivery - and allowing Hantuchova to claim three breaks.

The second frame featured a remarkable shift in momentum, as Schiavone shored up her serve and began to return with more menace, claiming three breaks of her own and setting the scene for an edgy decider, which could have gone either way before Schiavone landed a crucial blow late on.

Caroline Wozniacki remains a significant factor in the tournament after she toughed out a testing second set to beat Yanina Wickmayer 6-1 7-6(4). Wozniacki breezed through the first set, converting two of eight break chances, but Wickmayer improved in the second and almost forced a decider.

Jelena Jankovic was another high-profile name who looked far from fluent, eventually triumphing 6-4 2-6 6-2 over qualifier Anabel Medina Garrigues. Maria Sharapova enjoyed an easier time of things against Shahar Peer, winning 6-2 6-2 after 70 minutes.

Elsewhere, fourth seed Na Li was hardly tested against Jarmila Gajdosova, triumphing 6-2 6-1 in 64 minutes on court. There are only 22 ranking places separating the players, but the gulf in quality appeared massive on court as Li maintained her 100% record against Gajdosova.

Sixth seed Samantha Stosur, who lost to Schiavone in last year's French Open final, breezed past Slovenian qualifier Polona Hercog, winning 6-3 6-4.

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