Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska survived a dogfight to move into the Australian Open second round on Tuesday as she bids to end her long wait for a maiden Grand Slam title. The third seed battled past fellow veteran, Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova, 6-1, 4-6, 6-1 and will next play Croat Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, who beat Chinese qualifier Wang Qiang in three sets.
Radwanska, who lost in the final of the lead-up Sydney International, has consistently done well at Melbourne Park, making at least the quarter-finals in five of the previous six tournaments.
But she is yet to break through to win a title at any of the majors in 42 attempts spanning more than a decade.
"I have played her (Pironkova) many times and knew she was good," said the 27-year-old.
"I'm very happy that I was able to come back strongly in the third set and pleased to be into the next round."
An Australian semi-finalist last year, she is desperate to end her long wait and started methodically against Pironkova, who made the quarter-finals of the French Open last year, beating Radwanska along the way.
Nicknamed 'The Magician' for her shot-making, the Pole dug into her full box of tricks - including a brilliant, between-the-legs winner.
Radwanska worked an early break in the third game and won the first set in just 28 minutes with a trademark cross-court backhand earning her the final point.
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