Tennis: Win over Azarenka a big confidence booster - Erakovic

Marina Erakovic. Photo / Steven McNicholl

Notching her first win over a top 20 opponent has given New Zealand tennis player Marina Erakovic confidence she has the ability to compete with and beat the best.

Erakovic pulled off the biggest win of her tennis career by upsetting world No 4 Victoria Azarenka in the United States today.

The New Zealand No 1, ranked 117 places lower than the Belarussian, won their second round match 4-6 7-6 6-2 at the WTA Stanford Classic in California.

Azarenka is no stranger to Erakovic -- the pair combined to win the Australian Open junior doubles title in 2005.

Erakovic, who had to battle through the qualifying round to earn a spot in the main draw, came from a set down to clip tournament top seed and defending champion Azarenka's wings after being kept on court for two hours 13 minutes.

"Coming in I knew I had to be the aggressor and try to dictate the pace," Erakovic said.

"I knew the court and I felt like I was hitting the ball well."

The result, her 24th singles victory in 28 matches, continued a rich vein of form for Erakovic, who began the year ranked 324th after reaching a career-high 49th in the world in 2008 only to suffer hip and leg injuries.

"I went into a slump just before the injury and was beginning to question whether this tennis thing was for me," Erakovic told reporters.

"The injury made me realise how much I love tennis and that's when I committed myself. Coming back I feel like I can compete with the best."

Now free of injury, the 23-year-old reached the second round of the singles and the double semifinals at Wimbledon in June - when Azarenka reached the singles semifinals - after getting plenty of court time on the lower tier ITF circuit where she won three titles in March and April.

She reached the main draw at the French Open, exiting in the first round ahead of Wimbledon at London where she went one round deeper.

Today, she overshadowed a world top 10 opponent with a consummate allround display despite Azarenka's superior first serve percentage.

Erakovic nailed 56 per cent of her first serves compared to Azarenka's 67 per cent but tellingly the New Zealander won 77 per cent of the first service points to her rival's 68 per cent.

Erakovic broke Azarenka for the first time in the pivotal 12th game of the second set to secure it 7-5, held serve in the first game of the deciding set, then broke for a second successive game to claim a vital 2-0 lead.

She then held each of her service games and broke Azarenka again, in the final game, to clinch a memorable result.

Erakovic next meets world No 19 and tournament eighth seed Dominika Cibulkova, of Slovakia, for a place in the quarterfinals.

"I have played Dominika once in the juniors (ranks) and she is a tough competitor and quick around the court.

"I'll just be aggressive, attack the ball and have a good service percentage, keep it simple against her."

- NZPA