Maria Sharapova avoided an early exit from the Madrid Open on Tuesday, rallying to beat Christina McHale to reach the third round while Roger Federer withdrew from the men's event. Trailing 4-1 in the final set, Sharapova steadied her erratic service game and took command again to beat the 56th-ranked American 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 on clay at the Magic Box tennis center. However, Sharapova didn't surrender a point after that as McHale netted to be broken to see her advantage dip to 4-3, and Sharapova eventually fired an ace down the middle to eliminate McHale for the second year running. I think I had a bit of a letdown,'' said 2013 finalist Sharapova, who is coming off a tournament victory in Stuttgart. More...