<p>Second seed Simona Halep was rattled by big-hitting Alja Tomljanovic Wednesday, but won five games in a row to survive a major scare and reach the Australian Open third round.</p>.<p>The two-time Grand Slam winner was pushed to the brink by the gutsy Australian in a see-saw second round clash before finally prevailing 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 in two hours and 34 minutes.</p>.<p>Halep, who lost just three games to Australian wildcard Lizette Cabrera in the first round, rallied from 5-2 down in the third set.</p>.<p>"I was expecting a difficult match but it was more than I thought," she said.</p>.<p>"I thought in the end I was mentally stronger, had the desire and didn't give up."</p>.<p>Halep started the match with a break but the feisty, 72-ranked Tomljanovic, buoyed by the bulk of support at Margaret Court Arena, hit back and edged ahead.</p>.<p><strong><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/sports/tennis/australian-open-rock-solid-osaka-marches-into-third-round-949719.html" target="_blank">Read | Australian Open: Rock solid Osaka marches into third round</a></strong></p>.<p>An angry Halep remonstrated in the direction of her Australian coach Darren Cahill en route to dropping the opening set, but composed herself to hit back and draw level.</p>.<p>But Halep couldn't shake off Tomljanovic, who continued to pounce on the Romanian's tentative serve and broke in the pivotal sixth game of the decider to sniff an upset.</p>.<p>But the twists continued with Tomljanovic unable to close it out on serve as Halep mustered five games on the trot to finally prevail.</p>.<p>Halep, 29, is seeking a maiden triumph at Melbourne Park having fallen short to Caroline Wozniacki in the 2018 decider.</p>.<p>She was left stunned last year after a straight-sets loss to Garbine Muguruza in the semi-finals.</p>.<p>Halep, whose seven-year streak in the top 10 is the longest active run among women, plays 32nd seed Veronika Kudermetova of Russia in the next round.</p>
<p>Second seed Simona Halep was rattled by big-hitting Alja Tomljanovic Wednesday, but won five games in a row to survive a major scare and reach the Australian Open third round.</p>.<p>The two-time Grand Slam winner was pushed to the brink by the gutsy Australian in a see-saw second round clash before finally prevailing 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 in two hours and 34 minutes.</p>.<p>Halep, who lost just three games to Australian wildcard Lizette Cabrera in the first round, rallied from 5-2 down in the third set.</p>.<p>"I was expecting a difficult match but it was more than I thought," she said.</p>.<p>"I thought in the end I was mentally stronger, had the desire and didn't give up."</p>.<p>Halep started the match with a break but the feisty, 72-ranked Tomljanovic, buoyed by the bulk of support at Margaret Court Arena, hit back and edged ahead.</p>.<p><strong><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/sports/tennis/australian-open-rock-solid-osaka-marches-into-third-round-949719.html" target="_blank">Read | Australian Open: Rock solid Osaka marches into third round</a></strong></p>.<p>An angry Halep remonstrated in the direction of her Australian coach Darren Cahill en route to dropping the opening set, but composed herself to hit back and draw level.</p>.<p>But Halep couldn't shake off Tomljanovic, who continued to pounce on the Romanian's tentative serve and broke in the pivotal sixth game of the decider to sniff an upset.</p>.<p>But the twists continued with Tomljanovic unable to close it out on serve as Halep mustered five games on the trot to finally prevail.</p>.<p>Halep, 29, is seeking a maiden triumph at Melbourne Park having fallen short to Caroline Wozniacki in the 2018 decider.</p>.<p>She was left stunned last year after a straight-sets loss to Garbine Muguruza in the semi-finals.</p>.<p>Halep, whose seven-year streak in the top 10 is the longest active run among women, plays 32nd seed Veronika Kudermetova of Russia in the next round.</p>