MELBOURNE — Former champion Maria Sharapova found inspiration in a change of dress to put away unseeded American Lauren Davis 6-1 6-7(5) 6-0 at the Australian Open on Friday and set up an intriguing fourth round match with rising Swiss talent Belinda Bencic.
Up 2-0 in the second set and closing in on victory, the Russian's serve crumbled, allowing Davis to reel off five consecutive games and eventually capture a tense second set tiebreak.
Fifth seed Sharapova left the court for a lengthy comfort break between sets but re-emerged with a fresh outfit and a renewed focus, and proceeded to hammer the hapless American.