Rafael Nadal and Maria Sharapova avoided early exits as they survived in thrilling matches in Day 3 of the 2015 Australian Open on Wednesday morning in Melbourne, Australia.

Nadal, who is still trying to regain his old form after being sidelined by injuries for the majority of last season, escaped with a hard-earned 6-2, 3-6, 6-7 (2-7), 6-3, 7-5 win over unseeded Tim Smyczek of United States.

Coming off a straight-set win against Mikhail Youzhny in the opening round, Nadal looked poised to ran away with another easy win after dominating in the opening set, but Smyczek took control and won the next two sets.

Nadal, who needed medical attention for stomach pain in the third set, bounced back in the fourth set and took control in the crucial moments of the final set.

With the game tied at 5-5, Nadal broke Smyczek's serve to take a 6-5 lead. He wasted three match points in the following game, but he eventually regained control en route to the victory. The 14-time Grand Slam champion expressed relief after winning, admitting that he almost retired from the match because of dizziness.

"I was close to not continue because I felt that I was very dizzy," Nadal said. "After the third, fourth, and fifth, I tried to play much more aggressive, without running, no running anymore, and try to go for the winners and play little bit better, play little bit more relax. In terms of physically, at the end of the match I started to felt little bit better."

Like Nadal, women's second seed Maria Sharapova was also on the verge of losing in her second-round match against fellow Russian Alexandra Panova, but she escaped with a come-from-behind 6-1, 4-6, 7-5 victory to advance to the third round.

Sharapova, who is aiming to win her second Australian Open title, faced two match points in the 10th game of the third set, but the five-time Grand Slam champion leaned on her vast experience in big games to keep her title hopes alive.

"I'm just happy to get through -- I was one point away twice today from being out of the tournament," Sharapova said via ESPN. "I was not playing my best tennis today. I think she played a pretty inspired match. She came out here with not much to lose and swinging freely and going for her shots."

Complete 2015 Australian Open Day 3 results are available on this link, while match highlights can be seen here.

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