Melbourne, Australia - Staring match point in the face, Maria Sharapova let loose a thunderous forehand and showed challenger Alexandra Panova why shes ranked No. Jack Tatum Jersey . 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. Jack Tatum Raiders Jersey . Off-Season Game Plan looks at a Wild team that has a nice mix of proven veterans along with young, inexpensive talent on the rise. When the Wild signed Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, making a big splash in the summer of 2012, it set the franchise on a path to being more competitive, but a big reason that they have been so competitive is the contributions of young players who still have more to give. Maxx Crosby Womens Jersey . Spains victory rendered Frances 3-0 win against Finland meaningless as Spain needed just one point to secure passage to Brazil. Franck Ribery and Karim Benzema scored either side of Joona Toivios own-goal as France advanced to the playoff among the eight best second-place finishers.NASHVILLE -- The Pittsburgh Penguins needed a boost to snap a three-game skid. They got it from Tanner Glass, who blocked shot after shot after shot by Nashville Predators captain Shea Weber. Glass got in front of five shots, Matt Niskanen scored his second goal of the game 7:29 into the third period, and the Penguins beat the Predators 3-1 on Tuesday night. "We saw Tanner Glass come up with some huge blocks in the first period on Shea Weber," Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma said. "Three in a row on probably the hardest shot in the league taking those, and they did a great job and again we stuck with it. ... I thought we got a great win for our team." Glass said his job is to be in the lane when Weber is trying to shoot on the power play. Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury said the blocked shots off the stick of the Predators defenceman provided a lift similar to a big goal or a fight. "You know its coming hard and heavy," Fleury said of Webers shot. "But (Glass) still goes and makes the save. My hat goes off to him." The Penguins helped ruin the return of Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne in his first game since Oct. 22 following an E. coli infection in his surgically repaired left hip. Niskanens winning goal came during a power play. The NHLs best unit went 1 for 5 with the man advantage. Sidney Crosby found Niskanen for a slap shot that went under Rinnes glove. "Hes a really good goalie, and he is very tough to beat," Niskanen said. "It was a really great effort by us. A lot of guys did well, and it was a good team effort." Chris Kunitz scored a goal, and Crosby had three assists to add to his NHL-leading point total. The Penguins have not lost more than three straight this season, and this win sets them up for the final three games on their longest road trip this season. Patric Hornqvist scored for Nashville, which has lost two consecutive games. Rinne made 16 saves in his return. He had surgery on his hip on May 9 and needed a seconnd operation because of the infection on Oct. Lyle Alzado Jersey. 24. He rejoined the Predators on Monday after stopping 33 of 35 shots in a two-game conditioning stint in Milwaukee. "Its great to be back," Rinne said. "Its been a pretty long time so it means a lot to me to be able to be back, play at home, and the fans have been great to me. It made me feel really good but still we lost the game and thats tough to take." Fans welcomed him back with a huge roar during introductions and chanted his name after his first big save. Crosby sent a cross-ice pass to Kunitz that Rinne blocked by sticking out his right pad. The two-time Vezina Trophy finalist stopped Kunitz again on a breakaway later in the first period. Nashville thought it had a 1-0 lead when Paul Gaustad had the puck go off his right shin past Fleury off a rebound of a shot by Nick Spaling. But after a long review, officials disallowed the goal because of a distinct kicking motion by Gaustad. "They called it a goal on the ice," Nashville coach Barry Trotz said. "I looked at it, and there was a motion but it was more of a stopping motion to me. (He) is trying to run to the net and not run over the goalie." The Penguins scored first when Crosby skated around the net and found Niskanen in the right circle for a one-timer that squeezed between Rinne and the post 27 seconds into the second. Nashville answered 12 seconds later as Hornqvists wrister off a rebound beat Fleury. Pittsburgh sealed the win when Crosby fed Kunitz in the slot for a slap shot with 17:05 left. It was the 28th goal this season for Kunitz and the 200th of his career, giving the large contingent of Penguins fans plenty to celebrate. NOTES: Penguins forward Chuck Kobasew played his 600th NHL game after being placed on waivers Monday. ... Pittsburgh has killed 12 straight penalties over four consecutive road games. ... Predators coach Barry Trotz is 6-3-1 in Nashville against the Penguins. ... Hornqvist has two goals and four assists in his last eight games. ' ' '