Ponte Vedra, Florida: Fourth-seeded Elena Vesnina of Russia defeated Julia Goerges of Germany 6-3, 6-2 in the second round of the MPS Group Championships on Thursday.
Vesnina fell behind 3-2 in the first set but won 24 of the next 26 points to close out the set and take a 2-0 lead in the second. Play was delayed for nearly 10 minutes when a fan passed out in the stands and was treated. When play resumed, Vesnina won four consecutive points for a 5-2 lead in windy conditions.
"I was hitting against the wind and she was hitting so hard and the ball was heavy," Vesnina said. "I was trying to hit it, but it was not flying to the baseline."
Goerges began the seventh game of the second with a pair of aces before play was delayed nearly 10 minutes when a fan passed out in the stands and was treated. When play resumed, Vesnina won four consecutive points for a 5-2 lead in windy conditions.
"It's scary," Vesnina said. "(The delay) helped me a little bit, actually. She served me two aces in a row and the lady passed out and I can tell her thank you, actually. I saw the doctor and he told me she was fine now."
Vesnina will next face American Melanie Oudin, who rebounded from losing the first 10 points to beat China's Peng Shuai 2-6, 7-5, 7-5 in a night match.
"It took everything," Oudin said of the 2-hour, 5-minute match. "I started off not exactly like I wanted to, losing the first 10 points of the match, and I was looking forward to winning a point."
Olga Govortsova of Belarus won 71 percent of her first-serve points, defeating qualifier Anna Tatishvili of Georgia 6-2, 6-2. In the quarterfinals Govortsova will face Varvara Lepchenko of the United States, who made it into the draw only as a lucky loser when seventh-seeded Virginie Razzano of France withdrew with a foot injury.
Taking the opportunity, Lepchenko squashed Angelique Kerber of Germany 6-1, 6-1 in 49 minutes.
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