It is not often that elements conspire against champions, but that's exactly what happened to top-seeded Maria Sharapova of Russia, who had to battle the searing heat as much as her opponent on a grueling opening day of the Australian Open. 

Camille Pin of France must have been as awestruck as the crowd to see the Russian champ struggle to close out the match in the third set. However Sharapova overcame the elements to beat Pin 6-3, 4-6, 9-7 to advance to the second round of the Australian Open, much to the relief of the tournament organizers, who must have balked at the prospect of seeing the top attraction bite the dust.

It was a hot and humid day at Melbourne, forcing officials to cancel matches scheduled to take place on outside courts. The 19-year-old Sharapova, who has not lost in the first round of a Grand Slam tournament since 2003, admitted that the heat was a huge problem.

"This was one of the toughest matches — obviously not one of my best," Sharapova said. "Most important, I'm looking forward to recovering."

American Serena Williams had no such problems in her comeback tournament beating Mara Santangelo of Italy 6-2, 6-1, while compatriot Mardy Fish accounted for fourth-seeded Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia 4-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-4, 6-4.

Rafael Nadal of Spain also had a relatively easy match advancing with a 7-6 (8-6), 6-3, 6-2 win over American Robert Kendrick.