The two players produced an exceptional display of stamina as they battled out a third set lasting 104 minutes in the 2-3/4-hour match, each raising their fist with cries of 'come on!' with each point won.

The willowy Hantuchova had a similar result when she was beaten by Ashley Harkleroad in the second round of the French Open, losing the third set 9-7.

She said she needed to improve her mental stamina but, despite the many comments about her weight recently, she felt fine physically.

"I felt like I could have kept going for another two hours, it's the mental side I have to work on," a visibly emotional Hantuchova told reporters.

"I've been in this situation before and I didn't handle it well. It was very frustrating for me as I've been there before. It's hard when a tournament means a lot to you," said the 20-year-old, who last year reached the quarter-final here.

Hantuchova looked set for an easy victory when she ran away with the first seven games.

But her Japanese opponent, who reached the final in Birmingham 10 days ago, must have fancied her chances to cause an upset on court two -- the graveyard of seeds -- and battled back in the second set.

She finally registered on the scoreboard in the eighth game of the match to draw loud cheers from the assembled Japanese contingent and then showed off her own grasscourt expertise by romping to a 5-2 lead before levelling the contest when Hantuchova netted a service return in the 10th game.

The Slovakian surged ahead in the decider and looked to have the match wrapped up, but she had not counted on Asagoe's incredible will to stay in the match.

LONG RALLIES

Asagoe forced Hantuchova into a series of long rallies before breaking her when she was serving for the match at 5-3, saving a match point in the process.

The more dogged Asagoe was, the more frustrated Hantuchova became and the Slovakian broke down in tears when yet another unforced error kept her opponent in the game.

At 10-10 Asagoe broke Hantuchova for the fourth time when the Slovakian double-faulted. She served a 93-mph (149.7 km) ace to earn match point and saw out her superb victory when Hantuchova put her return of serve into the net.

Asagoe will face Francesca Schiavone in the third round after the Italian beat South African 17th seed Amanda Coetzer 4-6, 7-5, 6-4.