Israeli tennis player Shahar Peer proved her mental strength Friday after winning a nerve-wracking match in Melbourne against French player Tatyana Golovin 3:6, 7:5, 7:5, thereby earning the ticket to the fourth round of the Australian Open grand slam.

Peer, Israel's leading representative at the tournament, will next face the Russian Swentlana Kuznetsova, ranked fourth in the world and third in the Australian Open.

Friday's fascinating match between Peer, seeded 16, and Golovin, seeded 20, was the Frenchwoman's to begin with as she swept through the first set to win 6:3.

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But Peer made a solid return to the match as she managed to earn the second set in the 12th game 7:5 after high drama, which was sustained in the third set.

Golovin opened with a 2:0 lead over Peer, who managed to narrow the lead to 2:3 before showers forced a short intermission in the match.

When the match was renewed, Golovin managed to break a 4:4 tie and inch ahead to a 5:4 lead. Despite the fact that Golovin had the serve in the crucial game, Peer did not budge, saving two essential points to regain the tie at 5:5. Peer's break point was also her victory point, as Golovin no longer fought back in the two remaining games.

Peer was on the road to victory from then on as she won the last two points in less than 10 minutes to seal the third set of the three-hour match at 7:5.

Peer's achievement Friday matched her accomplishments in the last U.S. Open and the last Roland Garros (the French Open), in both of which she made it to the fourth round.