As play resumed on Wednesday, the draw began to advance into the third round. And while upset was the word of the day on Monday and Tuesday, one of the top seeds dodged a bullet on Wednesday as play leaned towards the favorites.

In the best of the early matches, second-seeded Maria Sharapova met fellow Russian Alexandra Panova in Rod Laver Arena. And in a match that began as routine for the high seed, it quickly turned into a huge test before she finally advanced, 6-1 4-6 7-5.

In the first set, Sharapova took Panova to task with her trademark power game. Dominating with her first serve, Sharapova placed the 25-year-old on the defensive immediately and only allowed two winners from her opponent.

In the second set, Panova appeared to make adjustments and captured an early break advantage. And just when it appeared the five-time major champion would sail to the next round, she hit a bump in the road. Perhaps temporarily losing focus, she would find herself facing a two-break deficit. However, Panova was unable to serve out the set as the world No. 2 would begin to fight back, earning one service break back. Later, Sharapova continued to show the will that has become a trademark of hers, saving three set points on her serve. But with the pressure squarely on the shoulders of the qualifier, she took Sharapova’s best shot and served out the set to even the match.

As play moved to the third set, Sharapova clearly attempted to raise her intensity. But to the credit of Panova, she earned another early break advantage. Feeding on the high number of Sharapova unforced errors, she kept the pressure on the high seed. And while the 27-year-old continued to battle, Panova could see the finish line and once again picked up a second break. However, as has been witnessed before, Sharapova fought all the way back and, after fighting off two match points, evened the match and ultimately edged ahead to take the set and match. The second seed overcame 51 unforced errors to find a way to advance.

 In other action, the last image many have of Shuai Peng is at the 2014 U. S. Open, where she dealt with severe cramps in the semifinals against Caroline Wozniacki. But nearly five months later, Peng is competing at a high level at another Grand Slam event. She met veteran Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia, who was no match for her on Wednesday. The Chinese player was victorious, 6-1 6-1.

In the first set, much like her fortnight at the U. S. Open, Peng dissected the court with a surgeon-like skill. Keeping her opponent off balance using an array of angles, the veteran cruised in the first set.

It was more of the same in the second set as Peng continued to control the match. Looking like a player who knew exactly how she wanted to dictate, the 29-year-old carried out her strategy in a workmanlike effort and easily advanced. Peng served well and won 77 percent of her net points. The 21st seed will advance to the third round with the result.

Elsewhere, Ekaterina Makarova looked to be in prime form as she cruised by Roberta Vinci, 6-2 6-4. Despite a less than superb serving day, the Russian attacked Vinci’s serve and broke four times in the match. Forcing 29 unforced errors from the Italian, it took just 74 minutes for the 10th seed to advance.

Other notable victors were Julia Goerges and Karolina Pliskova, who took the best shot from 183rd-ranked Oceane Dodin of France in her three set win.