Inland Waterways » Open runner-up Simona Halep whipped

Melbourne, Australia (SportsNetwork.com) - Staring match point in the face, Maria Sharapova let loose a thunderous forehand and showed challenger Alexandra Panova why shes ranked No. 2 in the world. Sharapova trailed 1-4 in the third set, staved off a pair of match points and survived for one of her most memorable comeback victories in an improbably entertaining second-round match at the Australian Open on Wednesday. The match lasted 2 1/2 hours, the third set alone taking 68 minutes despite Panova jumping out to a commanding lead with a pair of breaks of Sharapovas serve. Sharapova earned one back but trailed 4-5 and faced two match points. On the first, the five-time Grand Slam winner unleashed a powerful winning forehand on a second serve that hugged the line. The second was a longer point also won by Sharapova with a forehand, and from there Panova wilted. The French Open champ Sharapova won the game, held at love and quickly earned two match points of her own. She only needed one, as Panova was long at the end of a lengthy rally to secure Sharapovas 6-1, 4-6, 7-5 victory. I think I was dwelling too much on my mistakes and what I was doing wrong, and not really being in the present, something that Im usually really good at, said Sharapova. At that point when youre behind, you feel like youre making a lot of errors and dont have a good rhythm out there, but I really just kept trying to take it one point at a time, think positively, and change my thought process a little bit out there. When other things arent working, maybe the mental side of things will help you out. The 25-year-old Panova entered the seasons first major as a qualifier and came in ranked 150th in the world. She lost all five of her previous Grand Slam matches before cruising past Sorana Cirstea on Monday. Sharapova, who committed 51 unforced errors and six double faults, won this major tournament in 2008 and was twice a runner-up. The former world No. 1 exited in the fourth round last year. Her next opponent will be 31st-seeded Kazakhstani Zarina Diyas, who overcame Anna Schmiedlova 3-6, 6-2, 8-6 at Melbourne Park. Meanwhile, third-seeded French Open runner-up Simona Halep whipped Aussie Jarmila Gajdosova 6-2, 6-2 and seventh-seeded Wimbledon finalist Eugenie Bouchard blitzed Dutchwoman Kiki Bertens 6-0, 6-3. Up next for Halep will be American Bethanie Mattek-Sands, while Bouchard will face Frances Caroline Garcia. Tenth-seeded Russian Ekaterina Makarova mauled Italian veteran Roberta Vinci 6-2, 6-4, while 14th-seeded former French Open runner-up Sara Errani of Italy got past Spaniard Silvia Soler-Espinosa 7-6 (7-3), 6-3. In other action involving seeds, No. 21 Peng Shuai pasted Slovak Magdalena Rybarikova 6-1, 6-1 and No. 22 Czech and last weeks Sydney runner-up Karolina Pliskova held off Frances Oceane Dodin 7-5, 5-7, 6-4. Also on Day 3, Mattek-Sands edged out Kristina Mladenovic 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (8-6); Garcia beat Stefanie Voegele 6-3, 6-4; Czech Lucie Hradecka beat Polona Hercog 4-6, 6-3, 6-2; German Julia Goerges outlasted Klara Koukalova 6-3, 4-6, 6-2; Belgian Yanina Wickmayer snuck past Lara Arruabarrena 6-4, 4-6, 6-4; German Carina Witthoeft drilled American Christina McHale 6-3, 6-0; Romanian Irina-Camelia Begu topped Katerina Siniakova 7-5, 6-4; and Kazakhstans Yaroslava Shvedova downed Puerto Rican Monica Puig 6-2, 7-6 (8-6). On some more second-round action on Thursday, world No. 1 Serena Williams will face Vera Zvonareva in a rematch of the 2010 Wimbledon final, which was won by Williams, fourth-seeded reigning Wimbledon champ and last weeks Sydney titlist Petra Kvitova will take on German Mona Barthel, and eighth-seeded U.S. Open runner-up Caroline Wozniacki will battle fellow former world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka. The unseeded two-time Aussie champ from Belarus Azarenka titled back-to-back here in 2012 and 2013 before being slowed by a foot injury last year. She will meet Wozniacki for an eighth time on Thursday, with the Dane leading the Belarusian in their lifetime series, 4-3. Wozniacki got the better of Azarenka in the third round at the 2008 U.S. Open in their lone Grand Slam matchup. Also slated for action on Day 4 are sixth-seeded former Wimbledon runner-up Agnieszka Radwanska, 11th-seeded 2014 Aussie runner-up Dominika Cibulkova and 18th-seeded former No. 1 and 2003 Aussie finalist Venus Williams, who will take on fellow American Lauren Davis. Cheap Panthers Jerseys .Y. -- Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire will have less time to remain eligible for the Hall of Fame ballot under changes made Saturday. Cheap Carolina Panthers Jerseys . Hamilton signed offensive linemen Mike Filer, Joel Reinders, Landon Rice and Carson Rockhill. http://www.cheapcarolinapanthersjerseysauthentic.com/.com) - The red-hot Los Angeles Kings take aim at an eighth straight victory on Monday night as they wrap up a road trip versus the Calgary Flames. Cheap Panthers Jerseys Authentic .Bacca took advantage of Cristian Alvarezs hesitation to head a lobbed pass over the goalkeeper and then used his feet to roll the ball into an empty net in the eighth minute. The Colombia strikers 10th goal pulled him level with Lionel Messi as the leagues third-leading scorers, far behind Cristiano Ronaldos runaway tally of 23 goals. Panthers Jerseys China .S. international midfielder Michael Bradley is complete.MINNEAPOLIS - The Minnesota Timberwolves have named Sam Mitchell as an assistant on coach Flip Saunders staff. The Timberwolves made the announcement Tuesday. Mitchell played for the Timberwolves in 10 seasons, including seven years during Saunders first stint as coach of the team. Mitchell coached the Toronto Raptors for just over four seasons and was named coach of the year in 2006-07. He also servedd as an assistant under Avery Johnson in New Jersey and George Karl in Milwaukee.dddddddddddd He had been serving as an analyst on NBA TV among other media outlets while waiting to get back into the game. Saunders says he values the leadership Mitchell will bring to the team. Mitchell joins Sidney Lowe as assistants on Saunders staff. Saunders son, Ryan, is expected to be hired as well. ' ' '