New York, Aug 29: A battling Mary Pierce clawed her way into the third round of the U.S. Open on Thursday, taming 22nd seed Jelena Dokic 6-2 6-7 7-6.
Fighting back to fitness following two injury-plagued seasons, a beefy Pierce showed glimpses of the power game that helped her to win grand slam titles at the Australian and French Opens. Pierce put in a determined and draining two-hour performance to edge out the Yugoslav on a sun-baked centre-court.
Having dealt with abdominal, back and ankle injuries over the last two years, the 28 year-old Frenchwoman appeared to relish her time back in the spotlight.Pierce cracked a sly smile when she broke Dokic with a cheeky drop volley to jump into a 5-2 lead on her way to taking the opening set. But at 5-4 and serving for the match, Pierce could not close out the second set.

She squandered a match point and allowed Dokic to level the contest after the Yugoslav won the tiebreak 7-5. With Dokic storming to a 5-2 lead in the third and serving for the match, Pierce appeared to be on her way out.
But the 64th ranked Pierce dug deep into her reserves, breaking the Yugoslav twice and forced the match to a decisive tiebreak.This time Pierce grabbed her opportunity, taking the tiebreak 7-5 when Dokic's return sailed wide and long.


Bureau Report