McHale's Patience Propels Her Into Third Round MELBOURNE, Australia - Trailing by a set and surrounded by about 100 fans encouraging her opponent to "Put her away!," Christina McHale of the United States worked her way back from the brink of defeat on Wednesday. McHale's patience, coupled with agile footwork and booming groundstrokes, helped her to turn around her match against Marina Erakovic of New Zealand, prevailing 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3. It was her second victory of the 2012 Australian Open. "It was a really tough match," McHale said. She started off playing - right from the very first point - really hitting the ball. I kind of hung in there and waited for an opportunity. It was a long wait. Trailing 1-4 in the first set, McHale, a resident of Englewood Cliffs, N.J., chipped away at Erakovic's lead but could get no closer than 3-5. Erakovic, ranked 62nd in the world, stiffened. McHale got no closer than leading 30-15 on her opponent's serve in the ninth game before yielding the set. The crowd, populated by visiting New Zealanders, often broke into chanting: "Ki-wi, Ki-wi," followed by rhythmic clapping. "Keep attacking her!" advised a senior male spectator. If the shouts unnerved McHale, ranked 42nd, she displayed no sign of it. "I tend not to focus too much on the crowd," said McHale, who pointed out that she had supporters, too, although perhaps not as vocal. In the second set, McHale built a 5-2 lead that evaporated under Erakovic's pounding. By 5-all, the Croatian-born Erakovic, who lives in Auckland, had stroked 31 winners to McHale's 16. At 6-all, the set finally turned McHale's way when she wrong-footed Erakovic with a blistering backhand that disappeared into the forehand corner, putting the American up 5-4. Cracking under McHale's relentless pressure, Erakovic double -faulted to hand McHale a set point, which she immediately converted when Erakovic blasted a forehand wide. In the final set, McHale forged her victory by breaking Erakovic's serve three times and adjusting her shots to keep Erakovic away from the middle of the baseline, where she had been able to blast forehands for winners. It took 2 hours, 47 minutes for McHale to emerge victorious. "Sometimes I start off better than I did today," she said. In the next round, McHale will need a much better start. Her opponent, Jelena Jankovic of Serbia, defeated McHale 6-2, 6-0 in Charleston, S.C. last year, a decisive defeat in which McHale served poorly, she said, indicating she missed too many first serves. "It's going to be a really tough match," McHale said. I'm going to have to play really well.