Key Biscayne, March 26:

Maria Sharapova prevailed over Venus Williams in an error-filled match, winning 2-6, 6-2, 7-5 in the third round of the Sony Ericsson Open on Sunday.

The first match between the two in 20 months included 25 double faults. The two Grand Slam champions played for the first time since the 2005 Wimbledon semi-finals. There were 91 unforced errors and 13 service breaks, resulting in two and a half hours of fitful tennis. Sharapova is seeking her first title in the event and her first championship this year.

In other women’s play, top-ranked Justine Henin rallied from a 5-1 deficit in the third set to reach fourth round. Defending champion Svetlana Kuznetsova and No 4-seeded Kim Clijsters also advanced, but No 5 Martina Hingis lost.

Henin came from behind three times in the third set to beat Virginie Razzano 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (5). Henin won four consecutive games in the final set to reach 5-all. Serving at 5-6, love-30, she rallied for 6-all. Then she fell behind 2-0 in the tiebreaker before staging one last charge and closing out the third-round victory with a forehand winner.

Hingis lost to 17-year-old Agnieszka Radwanska 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 and settled for a consolation prize: the $20 million milestone. Hingis became the fourth player to reach that mark in career earnings, joining Steffi Graf, Lindsay Davenport and Martina Navratilova.

Roddick, who has yet to lose his serve in two matches, beat Gilles Simon 6-4, 6-4. Roddick’s fourth-round opponent will be David Ferrer, who won when they met a year ago. Rafael Nadal advanced when Olivier Rochus pulled out before their match due to a foot injury.