Sharapova survives U.S. Open scare

NEW YORK, Sept. 1 (UPI) -- Maria Sharapova prevailed over the New York heat and unheralded opponent Jarmila Groth Tuesday to advance to the second round of the U.S. Open.

The 14th-seeded Sharapova rallied to beat the Australian 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 on a day when the Los Angeles Times said temperatures on the court climbed as high as 110 degrees.

Sharapova used hard, deep groundstrokes to wear down Groth, who is ranked 60th in the world.

"She came out firing and didn't give me many opportunities," Sharapova said. "I'm glad I hung in, fought and gave myself a chance to get better."

Earlier in the Tuesday women's bracket, fourth-seeded Jelena Jankovic survived 48 unforced errors and outlasted Romanian Simona Halep 6-4, 4-6, 7-5.

The former world No. 1 took 2 hours, 20 minutes to down the 18-year-old Halep in the stifling late-summer heat.

Former U.S. Open winner Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia, the 11th seed, defeated 39-year-old Kimiko Date Krumm of Japan 6-2, 4-6, 6-1. Eighth-seeded Li Na of China was upset by Ukrainian Kateryna Bondarenko 2-6, 6-4, 6-2.