Wimbledon 2012 - Sharapova Battles Through Serving Problems - NYTimes.com Stefan Wermuth/Reuters Maria Sharapova struggled with her serve at times but held off the grass expert Tsvetana Pironkova, 7-6 (3), 6-7 (3), 6-0. WIMBLEDON, England (AP) - On the verge of victory, Maria Sharapova briefly lost her bearings. Sharapova's old serving problems resurfaced Thursday at Wimbledon, costing her the second set before she recovered to beat dangerous Tsvetana Pironkova, 7-6 (3), 6-7 (3), 6-0. The Court 1 match took two days and ended three minutes after Serena Williams concluded her second-round victory on Centre Court, beating qualifier Melinda Czink, 6-1, 6-4. 1-ranked Sharapova saved five set points in the first set and led the second set by 3-1 when play was halted Tuesday because of darkness. She lost the first two games when the match resumed, and double-faulted on her first three service points in the tiebreaker. "It felt like two matches in a way," Sharapova said. Today I wanted to start off really well because I knew I was up a break. Didn't go according to plan. Really served sloppy. Sharapova had shoulder surgery in 2008 and has been prone to double-faults, but in the final set she had no trouble with her serve - or anything else. She won 21 of the last 27 points and finished with just 11 unforced errors. Sharapova said she did not make any major changes down the stretch. "We were playing with the same balls; I played with the same racket," she said. I just started doing things a little bit better. Pironkova, ranked 38th, beat Venus Williams at Wimbledon each of the past two years. "If she played on grass 365 days a year, she'd be top five probably," Sharapova said. She has the perfect game for it. But Sharapova's at her best in winner-take-all sets. She improved her record in three-set matches to 9-0 this year and 21-1 since the beginning of 2011. She has won 14 consecutive matches, including the French Open this month to complete a career Grand Slam. While Sharapova battled an erratic serve, with 8 aces and 10 double-faults, Serena Williams had no such trouble. She won 27 of 28 points on her first serve, including 10 aces, and never faced a break point. Czink twice whiffed on returns. "I love my serve," Williams said, "and I love feeling good when I serve." Others advancing included the Americans Brian Baker, a qualifier ranked 126th, and No. 28-seeded Christina McHale. Sara Errani committed only five unforced errors and beat Anne Keothavong of Britain, 6-1, 6-1. The 25-year-old Errani, an Italian who has blossomed in Grand Slam competition this year, matched her best Wimbledon showing by advancing to the third round. She was the French Open runner-up this month to Sharapova, and she is 12-2 in major tournaments in 2012. She began this year with a career record of 15-17 at majors. Playing the day's first match on Court 2, the 10th-seeded Errani erased all three break points she faced and won in 61 minutes. That was a grueling effort compared with Wednesday, when she played only one point to complete a victory suspended overnight because of rain. The fourth day of play began with sunshine and temperatures heading into the low 80s. 7 David Ferrer defeated Kenny de Schepper, 7-6 (1), 6-2, 6-4. 13 Gilles Simon, who stirred debate this week when he said men should be paid more than women at tennis tournaments, lost to Xavier Malisse, 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (5). 8 Angelique Kerber beat Ekaterina Makarova, 7-5, 6-3.