World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki was among the tournament favourites that won on Day Three of the Australian Open but No.10 seed Francesca Schiavone made a shock exit at the hands of fellow Italian Romina Oprandi.
After racing through the opening set in only 28 minutes against Georgian Anna Tatishvili, Wozniacki looked on course for a similarly easy passage to those of fifth seed Li Na and defending champion Kim Clijsters earlier in the day.
But Tatishvili had other ideas and grimly held on to her advantage for several games after breaking early in the second set, pushing Wozniacki to the limit before the Dane eventually rallied to take the match 6-1 7-6 (7-4) in 109 mins.
Wozniacki will now meet Monica Niculescu for a spot in the round of 16 after the Romanian No.31 seed came from a set down to see off Frenchwoman Paulina Parmentier 4-6 6-4 6-1.
No.3 seed Victoria Azarenka joined the likes of Wozniacki, Li and Clijsters in the final 32 with a crushing 6-1 6-0 victory over local hope Casey Dellacqua in just under an hour.
Azarenka will play German Mona Barthel in the third round after she upset No.32 seed Petra Cetkovska 7-5 6-3.
Earlier, Schiavone followed in the footsteps of sixth seed Sam Stosur, never settling and paying the price against world No.80 Oprandi, who began the match with her left thigh heavily strapped and sought treatment regularly throughout a contest she won 6-4 6-3.
As well as seemingly battling either a thigh or hamstring injury, Oprandi also had to have work done on her right foot as well, leading to Schiavone complaining to the chair umpire late in the match.
But the ailments had little impact on Oprandi's performance as she booked her place in the third round at a Grand Slam for the first time, where she will meet German No.22 seed Julia Goerges, who was leading comfortably at 6-2 2-0 when injury forced Greece's Eleni Daniilidou to retire.
The woman Clijsters beat to lift the trophy at Melbourne Park 12 months ago, Li, had an easy progression at Rod Laver Arena when she brushed aside local wildcard Olivia Rogowska 6-2 6-2 in just over an hour.
And the French Open champion's reward for her comfortable progression is a third-round match-up against Spanish 26th seed Anabel Medina Garrigues, who gave little away in a 6-1 6-0 victory over Belarusian Olga Govortsova.
There were also no worries for defending champion Clijsters, who blasted her way into the third round by racing past hapless Frenchwoman Stephanie Foretz-Gacon in just 47 minutes.
After being challenged in the opening round by Portugal's Maria Joao Koehler on Monday, Clijsters went up a gear as she simply unleashed on the unfortunate Foretz Gacon, who was making her first appearance at Melbourne Park in five years.
Playing an opponent who had never been beyond the third round at a major and was through to the second round for just the second time at the Australian Open, Clijsters was in a ruthless mood as she won 6-0 6-1.
The gulf between Clijsters and her opponent came in the winners count, with the Belgian No.11 seed hitting 16 to just two while she also converted five of eight break points and only had to save one herself for the entire match.
While three-time US Open champion Clijsters cruised through, her next opponent had to work