MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) – Top-seeded Maria Sharapova narrowly avoided a stunning third-set collapse, overcoming the soaring heat and her own mistakes to beat Camille Pin 6-3, 4-6, 9-7 on Tuesday in the first round of the Australian Open.

The heat – it was 97 degrees and muggy at midday – forced tournament officials to suspend play on the outside courts.

Sharapova, her screeching intensifying as the temperature and the pressure increased, won five straight games to open the third set before Pin rallied with five in a row – fending off match points in the eighth game – to tie it at 5.

Sharapova, after wasting another match point in the 12th game, was broken again and allowed Pin to serve for the match.

The 19-year-old Russian got back on serve when Pin double-faulted on breakpoint to make it 7-7, then won the next eight points to advance to end the match.

Sharapova had not lost in the first round at a major since her first two Grand Slam tournaments in 2003. She has reached the quarterfinals in nine of the last 11 Grand Slams, including her U.S. Open win in September.

Virginia Ruzici was the only top-seeded woman to lose in the first round of the Australian championship in the Open era, falling to Australian Mary Sawyer in 1979.

Pin had only reached the second round twice in 14 previous majors. Her best result was last year in Melbourne, when she took then-defending champion Serena Williams to three sets.

Sharapova had trouble with her serve in blur of 65 unforced errors.

The hot conditions forced organizers to invoke the Extreme Heat Policy, which measures conditions by combining the air temperature and court surface temperature.

That meant that the roofs at Rod Laver Arena and the other main show arena were to be closed at the completion of ongoing matches. Current matches on outside courts were allowed to finish, but no new matches were allowed to start until the heat subsided.

That was no help for Sharapova

Second-ranked Rafael Nadal and Scotland’s Andy Murray, the only men to beat Roger Federer in 2006, were in action later Tuesday.

French Open champion Nadal was to follow Sharapova on Rod Laver Arena in a first-round match against American Robert Kendrick, who took the first two sets off him at Wimbledon last year before the Spaniard rallied to win in five.

Also, Sebastien Grosjean, a quarterfinalist or better at four of the last six Australian Opens, led Christophe Rochus 6-2, 4-1 when the Belgian retired because of breathing difficulties.

Tomas Berdych, seeded 13th, beat South Korea’s Lee Hyung-taik Lee 6-1, 6-2, 6-2.

In women’s matches, 13th-seeded Ana Ivanovic advanced with a 6-2, 6-0 win over Vania King, and American Meilen Tu rallied to beat Edina Gallovits 2-6, 6-4, 6-2.

India’s Sania Mirza advanced 6-3, 7-5 over Olga Savchuk.

Federer, aiming for a 10th Grand Slam title, began his title defense Monday with a 7-5, 6-0, 6-4 victory over Bjorn Phau.

AP-ES-01-15-07 2230EST

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