Davenport plots Sharapova downfall after overtaking Graf

A 6-2 3-6 7-5 victory over Sara Errani provided the small change in prize money that took the 31-year-old American past the total rewards that Steffi Graf earned in her illustrious career.

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In the money: Davenport is back to make more after time off to have a baby

It is a testament to Davenport's consistency and longevity - interrupted by an eleven-month absence while she had son Jagger - that she has collected the sum of $21,897,501 from her sixteen years of endeavour on the tour.

By overtaking Graf she becomes the highest earner of official prize money in the history of women's sport, although she will might well be overhauled herself one day by golfer Annika Sorenstam, who is barely $1 million behind.

Davenport returned to the tour late last year and although her success has quickly resumed she has not restored her ranking high enough yet to qualify for a seeded position in the draw.

Hence a meeting with world number five at such an early stage, although she struggled sufficiently against the unfancied Italian to mean that Sharapova might not be unduly troubled.

"Maybe I was already looking ahead to that match-up and you can never do that in sport," she admitted.

Fortunately or unfortunately her seven-month old son was not there to the former world number one win a close-fought match.

"He came here and I met him after I warmed up, he was here until about half an hour before I went on and then he went back to the hotel," said Davenport, who travels with a nanny and her husband Jon Leach, a banker and former top college tennis player.

"The court was too tough to have him watch on and the player lounge in the first few days of a Grand Slam is too chaotic, so he was better off at the hotel.

"It's a great thing to have him around as a distraction between matches, I'm ecstatic. I can't believe I'm lucky enough to have him and still play.

"Pretty much any free time is out of the window. I don't read magazines any more and I only go online to answer business emails or stuff involved with tennis. I see alot less of my friends but everyone is understanding."

Out: Austrian Tamira Paszek was beaten by Jelena Jankovic

World number three Jelena Jankovic had to overcome injury, a dogged opponent and even an errant driver to reach the second round of the Australian Open after an extraordinary first round escape at Melbourne Park.

The 22-year-old, who came into the tournament with a thigh injury sustained during the Hopman Cup in Perth, needed just over three hours to beat little-known Austrian Tamira Paszek 2-6 6-2 12-10 in a match in which she came from 4-1 down in the deciding set and saved three match points.