KEY POINTS:
After going out swinging and pulling off the best result of her career yesterday, Marina Erakovic will take the same approach into today's quarter-final against top seed Vera Zvonareva.
"She is a great player but, then again, I have got nothing to lose out there," Erakovic said.
"I
am going to give it everything I've got. I'm sure she is going to be nervous. I don't think she knows me that well and she is not going to have the crowd with her.
"So there are bonuses for me. I think it will be a good match."
The 19-year-old Erakovic booked her spot in the ASB Classic quarter-finals by upsetting American Ashley Harkleroad in thrilling fashion.
The New Zealand number one battled back from a break down in each set to topple a player ranked 75 places above her in exactly two hours.
Today will be the first time a New Zealander has appeared in the quarter-finals of the tournament since Belinda Caldwell 18 years ago.
Caldwell went on to make the semis but the odds on Erakovic doing likewise will be steep.
Alongside Lindsay Davenport, Zvonareva looks to be the class act in the field.
But Erakovic's composure under pressure yesterday suggests she won't be entirely without hope.
On the big points, Erakovic played the better tennis.
"Maybe it was the fact that once I was down I thought 'right, I have to start swinging again'," she said.
After recovering from an early service break to force a tiebreaker, Erakovic closed out the first set in convincing fashion.
She then broke Harkleroad when the American was serving for the second set before fending off two break points to go ahead 6-5.
One match point was all it took for Erakovic to put the rapidly unravelling Harkleroad out of her misery.
"I really enjoyed the last point," she said.
"Sometimes at match point you play back and safe. I thought: 'not again, I have got to hit the ball'. I did and I went 'yahoo, come to the net and put away the volley'. I did and that was that."
Harkleroad couldn't contain her frustration as a series of close line calls went against her in the closing stages. After throwing her racquet and kicking balls around in the final two games, she departed the court immediately after the final point.
It's unlikely the ice-cool Zvonareva will be as susceptible to the pressure an already sold-out centre court crowd will look to exert on her.
After dispatching Kiwi rookie Sacha Jones in 41 minutes on Tuesday, Zvonareva had another quick outing against Swede Sofia Arvidsson yesterday. Zvonareva served up seven double faults but still cruised past Arvidsson 6-2, 6-3 in just 57 minutes.
"I was pretty happy with the way I played but I don't think I'm yet on top of my game," she said.
"I stepped it up today and I had a pretty good serve when I needed it."
In other second round matches, Katarina Srebotnik, Aravane Rezai, Tamira Paszek and Maria Kirilenko all won through to the quarters. The results mean the top three seeds and star act Davenport are all still in contention for the title.
TODAY'S SCHEDULE
All matches Centre Court
Sovereign singles
* From 11am
(6) Tamira Paszek (AUT) v (2) Maria Kirilenko (RUS) followed by (1) Vera Zvonareva (RUS) v Marina Erakovic (NZL), Lindsay Davenport (USA) v Sara Errani (ITA). Not before 7pm, (3) Katarina Srebotnik (RUS) v Aravane Rezai (FRA).
Sovereign doubles
(1) Emilie Loit (FRA)/Meilen Tu (USA) v Marina Erakovic (NZL)/Michaella Krajicek (NED), Martina Muller (GER)/Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (CZE) v Mariya Koryttseva (UKR)/Lilia Osterloh (USA).
Davenport may face battle for momentum
There's at least one player who can beat Lindsay Davenport at the women's Classic - herself.
Davenport stuttered badly enough against fifth seed Anabel Medina Garrigues yesterday to drop the second set. After starting the match with a double fault she quickly clicked into gear and broke Garrigues three times to take the first set 6-1 in just 16 minutes.
At that stage, victory looked likely. What followed was a bit of a shock.
Davenport lost her way, getting drawn into long rallies that suited the Spaniard and often left her on the losing side.
After dropping her first service game of the set, Davenport appeared to have righted the ship by breaking back for 2-2. But Garrigues kept chipping away and Davenport eventually cracked, dropping the last two games of the set to lose 6-4.
On a sold-out day, tournament organisers must have seen the rest of the week flashing before their eyes as their prize drawcard faltered in the sweltering conditions.
They need not have worried. The Davenport the spectators had flocked to see reappeared for the third set. She broke Garrigues in the opening game with a series of powerful winners and then found the mark once again with her serve. Garrigues had no answer as she was ushered out of the tournament 6-0 in the decider.
Davenport didn't appear overly bothered by her flat second set performance. "It's kind of my MO," she said. "It happens quite often. Once you start off with a really good first set, inevitably you are going to have a little bit of a lull."
There was enough in her second set decline to suggest more tough matches lie ahead for the American. When her accuracy dropped off, Garrigues briefly managed to expose her declining mobility.
"The nature of my game is to try to be on the offence and be aggressive. I want to be the one dictating play, not the one trying to run down a lot of balls. She definitely got on top of the rallies in the second set," Davenport said.
"She did a good job of moving the ball around but I feel I maybe allowed her to do that a little too much. I got back to being more aggressive in the third."
