Marion Bartoli celebrates after winning match point against Vania King.
© Stephen Dunn/Getty Images
CARLSBAD, Calif. (AP) -- Top-seeded Marion Bartoli overcame her shaky serve to hold off American Vania King for a 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 second-round win in the Mercury Insurance Open on Wednesday night.
Bartoli, ranked 10th in the world, had 18 double faults and was successful on just 55 percent of her first services in the 3-hour, 10-minute match. She also had her serve broken eight times.
"When you are going through those kinds of patches, you still have to find a way to win,'' Bartoli said.
Bartoli was treated by the trainer when she was trailing 4-3 in the final set. She said she started having a back problem in the first set that began to hurt her left hip and affect her serve.
"The pain started to kill my motion on the serve,'' Bartoli said. "It was affecting me a lot and affecting me on my baseline game as well.''
King hit a higher percentage on her first serves (68 percent) and had just three double-faults, but had her serve broken nine times.
Bartoli was down 4-2 in the third set before she used a service break and held serve twice to take a 5-4 lead with her second ace. Bartoli, who had a first-round bye, won the match when King hit a forehand into the net.
It was a "long match and I really don't want to lose it,'' said King, who bounced her racket off the court after the final point. "It was frustration because I had my chances.''
King also sought medical attention for a left groin injury when she was up 6-5 in the second set.
U.S. Olympian Varvara Lepchenko posted a 6-4, 6-2 win over No. 8 seed Chanelle Scheepers of South Africa in a second-round match.
Lepchenko never faced a break point and won despite making only 55 percent of her first serves.
"It was pretty difficult out there and I'm still trying to get used to the conditions and still trying to find my game,'' Lepchenko said. "I'm happy the way it ended up.''
Lepchenko, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Uzbekistan, took advantage of the only service break of the first set with a forehand winner for a 4-3 lead.
Scheepers double-faulted in the third game of the second set to give Lepchenko a 2-1 lead. Scheepers failed to hold her serve as Lepchenko broke again for a 4-1 lead en route to the victory.
"Once I get into the match, especially in the second set, I started to go more for my shots and started to play a lot better,'' Lepchenko said.
Lepchenko will face No. 4 seed Nadia Petrova of Russia, a 6-4, 6-3 winner over American qualifier Alexa Glatch.
Chan Yung-jan of Taiwan moved into the quarterfinals with a 6-3, 7-6 (2) win over Britain's Heather Watson.