BBC SPORT | Tennis | Kournikova battles back

For the second day in a row Anna Kournikova came from behind to win at the Acura Classic in California.

She will face Jelena Dokic in the semi-finals after the Yugoslav registered what she termed as the biggest win of her career in ousting second seed Jennifer Capriati, 2-6 6-2 6-4.

Kournikova eliminated number 12 seed Anna Smashnova of Israel despite losing nine of the opening 11 games.

I guess that I was a step too slow in the beginning today

Anna Kournikova

She was 2-0 down in the third set before coming back to win six of the final eight games.

"I'm just really happy to win four matches in a row," Kournikova said.

She also won only one game in the first set in the previous round against Conchita Martinez, before rallying for a three-set win.

"Today was definitely tougher," Kournikova said. "I guess that I was a step too slow in the beginning today.

"I was really tired from yesterday. Then, I started to play smarter and get more aggressive. I started to move much better."

Dokic went into her match with Capriati having failed to beat the American in four previous contests.

"It's the biggest win of my career," said Dokic. "I've beaten (Martina) Hingis and Venus before but Jennifer was always the one to beat for me.

"She might be ranked (world) number three but she plays like a number one player, so it was very important."

Venus Williams
Williams will face Davenport in the semis

The two players delighted the crowd in the third set with several spectacular exchanges, including an end-to-end, 40-ball rally when Capriati served at deuce at 2-2 which finally ended with Dokic caressing a backhand drop-shot winner.

"Jennifer's fitness is better than mine but I improved mentally in this match," said Dokic after claiming her first win over a top-five player this year.

"I didn't give her too many free points and I kept the pressure on her. I hit some down-the-line shots tonight that looked impossible to make but I've been practising them and it really paid off."

Two-time defending champion Venus Williams also made it through in three sets by beating fifth seed Kim Clijsters of Belgium.

The top seed, who had not lost a set since being beaten by her sister Serena in the Wimbledon final last month, finished with a 122 mph ace - the fastest of the tournament.

"Finally, I got a really good one, that was nice," Williams said of her winning serve. "I was never nervous throughout the whole match.

"I made a few mistakes and rushed a few times, but I'm older and wiser now. I've been here a lot of times before."

Too strong

Clijsters, who lost to Williams in the finals of the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford last Sunday, regrouped after losing the first set.

But it wasn't enough against the more powerful and agile Williams.

Williams will face third seed Lindsay Davenport in Saturday's semis after she overpowered Ai Sugiyama of Japan 6-1 6-1.

Monica Seles, who was forced out of the Acura Classic with a foot injury, has announced she will be skipping the JPMorgan Chase Open next week.

Quarter-final results:

Anna Kournikova (Rus) bt (12) Anna Smashnova (Isr) 1-6 6-3 6-4

(1) Venus Williams (US) bt (5) Kim Clijsters (Bel) 6-3 5-7 6-4

(3) Lindsay Davenport (US) bt Ai Sugiyama (Jap) 6-1 6-1

(6) Jelena Dokic (Yug) bt (2) Jennifer Capriati (US) 2-6 6-2 6-4.


	Links to more Tennis stories