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by Prip Way out on Show Court 1, Elena Bovina was struggling against Alena Vaskova. The Russian had dominated in the first set as she had in the previous rounds, but suddenly found herself down 1-4 in the second. The Russian was still blasting the ball, but looked like she was running out of juice. Alena Vaskova was now simply feeding off the pace of the ball, and started hitting plenty of winners herself. Elena Bovina looked tired and frustrated, but determined, and the 6'3" 17-year-old came on court after the changeover renewed. Her shots started peppering the lines, and she got herself out of trouble the best way she knew how -- by hitting the ball hard and playing aggressively. She blasted her way to 4-all, when she had a major mental lapse, perhaps due to the relief of getting herself out of deep trouble. Alena Vaskova took the second set 7-5, but that's where her ride ended. Elena Bovina snapped out of her funk, and started playing the way she had in the early rounds, unleashing incredible shots that Vaskova could only stand and watch. Not giving the second set a second thought, she took the third 6-1, setting herself a date against, of all players, sixth seed Anna Kournikova. Elena Bovina might very well produce an early flight to Melbourne for the former top tenner. |