MELBOURNE, Australia – Lindsay Davenport got a tough workout from Karolina Sprem in the second round of the Australian Open before advancing Wednesday with a 7-6 (4), 6-3 victory.

After trading breaks in the third and fourth games, the first set went on serve, with Davenport winning the 12th game at love to force a tiebreaker.

Trailing 3-1, the top-ranked Davenport rallied after Sprem double-faulted, winning six of the last seven points and claiming the set with consecutive forehand winners.

“After being down in the tiebreaker, to come back and construct a few really good points, it was very key to get out of that,” Davenport said.

The 2000 Australian champion, had six breakpoint chances in the second set before finally converting after the sixth game went to deuce six times.

Two of Davenport’s three previous wins over Sprem have come at majors.

She won in the fourth-round here last year en route to the final and the quarterfinals at Wimbledon in 2004, after Sprem had upset then defending champion Venus Williams.

Sprem worked Davenport around with some big serves and powerful forehands in the 1-hour, 25-minute match on Vodafone Arena, but let herself down with nine double-faults.

Davenport was consistent, winning 80% of points on her first serve, firing six aces, and hitting 18 winners.

“It was a really tough match,” she said. “I knew she definitely had the ability to be dangerous, and that was the best that she’s played against me. I felt like I was hitting the ball well, just not quite hitting my spots.”

Davenport said Sperm’s power surprised her at times. “Maybe I was just caught a little off guard,” she said. “But the more aggressive I could be, I felt like the match was in my favor.

“I was able to come through not playing perfect tennis but I still thought I did some things well – everything about the match was a positive for me.”

She’ll face the winner of Wednesday’s match between Russians Maria Kirilenko and Galina Voskoboeva.

In another women’s match, Olga Savchuk of Ukraine beat 23rd-seeded Jelena Jankovic 6-3, 6-4 and Elena Vesnina had a 6-0, 7-5 win over Julia Schruff, who had ousted ninth-seeded Elena Dementieva in the first round.

Defending women’s champion Serena Williams faced Camille Pin of France later Wednesday, while no. 4 Maria Sharapova faced American Ashley Harkleroad.

On the men’s side, no. 7 Ivan Ljubicic advanced 7-5, 6-2, 6-1 over Philipp Kohlschreiber and no. 8 Guillermo Coria beat German qualifier Lars Burgsmuller 6-3, 6-2, 6-3. No. 2 Andy Roddick was scheduled to play Wesley Moodie.

Men’s winners Tuesday included topranked Roger Federer and no. 3 Lleyton Hewitt, who lost the final here last year. Hewitt, the home favorite, had to rally again and again to beat the Czech Republic’s Robin Vik 6-4, 2-6, 5-7, 7-6 (4), 6-3 in 3 hours, 45 minutes.

Not so fortunate was American Robby Ginepri, the 13th seed in the men’s draw, who blew a two-set advantage and fell to German qualifier Denis Gremelmayer, 2-6, 5-7, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3. Gremelmayer is ranked 177th in the world and was playing just his seventh tour-level match.

Ginepri failed to make it past the first round of the first three grand slams in 2005 but hit form late in the season, reaching the semi-finals of the U.S. Open and winning the ATP Tour event in Indianapolis.

He ended the year with a careerbest ranking of 17 and a reputation as one of the most improved players on the circuit.

Ginepri had been hoping to crack the Top 10 win a solid showing in Melbourne.