World No. 2 Maria Sharapova held off British qualifier Heather Watson in a three-set thriller to reach the third round of the Pan Pacific Open on Tuesday.
Sharapova, the second seed who had a bye into the second round, came back from a set down to beat the 78th-ranked Watson 6-7 (7-9), 6-3, 6-4.
Sharapova, winner of the Tokyo meet in 2005 and 2009, struggled early when she lost the first-set tiebreaker before rebounding on center court at Ariake Tennis Forest Park against the 20-year-old Watson, who was making her debut here.