Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka saved four match points and needed four of her own to earn a 6-7 (2/7), 6-2, 7-6 (8/6) victory over Payton Stearns at the Indian Wells Masters on Saturday.
The world number two was pushed to the limit in her opening match by the American outsider ranked 64th.
The match became a struggle from the start for Sabalenka, who was coming off an opening match loss in Dubai in February.
But she broke Stearns as the American served for the biggest upset of her career leading 5-4 in the third set, Sabalenka taking the contest into a tiebreaker. The double Grand Slam winner finally advanced into the third round on her fourth opportunity, letting out a yell of triumph and relief.
Sabalenka, runner-up to Elena Rybakina in the California desert last year, booked a third-round meeting with 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu of Britain.