Erakovic crashes out

New Zealander Marina Erakovic has failed in her quest to reach the third round of the Australian Open for the first time, going down in three sets to American Christina McHale on Wednesday.

In a see-sawing battle in which the momentum swung several times Erakovic was heading in the right direction after winning the first set and breaking again in the opening game of the second set.

But McHale, who was playing with her left hamstring heavily strapped, rallied immediately by breaking to love and simply wore her opponent down to eventually emerge with a 3-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 win in a marathon 167 minutes.

Erakovic is left to rue missed chances in a match that could have gone either way, having had just as many chances to break as McHale and struck 47 winners to 31, with her 49 unforced errors to 33 not helping her cause.

In the first set Erakovic broke in the second game to jump clear 2-0 and when she did it again with her second chance in the sixth game she led 5-1.

But having saved two break points in the third game she was unable to do so again in the sixth as McHale gave herself some hope, before Erakovic did hold in the ninth game to wrap up the set.

She could have again led 2-0 after breaking straight away in the second set but was broken to love herself as McHale hit back and then put her nose in front for the first time with a second break for 4-2.

Erakovic fought back though and the set would go to a tie-breaker, with McHale winning the final three points after they'd been level at 4-4 to force a deciding set.

All square after an epic 78-minute second set, Erakovic dropped her serve in the first game but while she broke back immediately for 1-1 it was all McHale from that point as she broke twice more to claim victory.