Erakovic out of classic as top seeds cruise

auckland
It is eight years since a qualifier won the Auckland women's international tournament, but two have survived to contest today's quarterfinals.
The names Sandra Cacic and Marion Maruska do not exactly trip off the tennis tongue but they won the event in 1996 and 1997.
Whether Israeli Shahar Peer or Slovakian Janette Husarova can emulate them and win the ASB Classic is doubtful.
They have played five matches in as many days to get this far, are both clearly fit but face tough hurdles tomorrow.
The 17-year-old Peer, one of the world's best juniors, eliminated Italian Mara Santangelo in three sets yesterday and meets Slovenia's Katarina Srebotnik today.
Santangelo had beaten defending champion Eleni Daniilidou the previous night but could not capitalise on that win yesterday.
Husarova, ranked 202, sailed past an unwell Marina Erakovic in straight sets 6-4 6-0 yesterday and meets fourth seeded Japanese player Shinobu Asagoe today.
Erakovic admitted there was thought given to whether she should even play yesterday, having been struck by a head cold.
"I went out and tried my best. It is tough when you're sick but you have to put that aside," the 16-year-old Aucklander said.
"The difference between juniors and seniors is that every point matters more. Everybody is a lot more focused."
Erakovic now heads for the Australian Open junior championships and has two US$10,000 ($14,380) Futures tournaments in Wellington and Blenheim and a couple of ITF events in Australia to keep her occupied for the next couple of months.
Another wildcard entry, Russian Lina Krasnoroutskaya, also lost.
She went down 7-6 (7-5) 6-1 to Srebotnik, throwing away a 4-0 lead in the tiebreak before being blown aside in the second set.
Most entertainment of the day came from French No 5 seed Marion Bartoli. She advanced into the quarterfinals with a 2-6 6-0 6-1 win over American Jill Craybas, but the scores hardly tell the story of the dramatic encounter.
The first set was straightforward. Then there were rain stoppages, Gallic shrugs and tears from Bartoli ? a semifinalist here last year ? as she battled a dodgy shoulder, a toilet break for the French player and a generous helping of histrionics.
As for today, Bartoli, the world No 41, described her chances of being fit to play second seed Jelena Jankovic as "50-50".
But the classic is looking like a showdown between the top seeds, both of whom won in a canter yesterday.
American top seed Amy Frazier cruised past lefthander Lucie Safarova, while Jankovic, recovering from the flu, took just 46 minutes to eliminate Spaniard Nuria Llagostera Vives.
One New Zealander is still standing in the classic. Leanne Baker and her Italian partner Francesca Lubiani play Americans Teryn Ashley and Laura Granville todaywith a semifinal doubles spot on the line.-NZPA