Stanford: Olga Govortsova figured a few extra matches the past week led to an extra special win. Ranked 83rd in the world, Govortsova ended a frustrating streak with a convincing 6-2, 6-4 victory over No. 2 seed Samantha Stosur in the second round at the Bank of the West Classic on Tuesday night.
Govortsova won back-to-back matches for the first time this season. She had lost seven of her previous eight entering the tournament. "It helped that I had the extra match and I played four matches in World Team Tennis last weekend," Govortsova said. "I don't think she has played since Wimbledon."
The 25-year-old player from Belarus, who beat Germany's Julia Goerges in straight sets in the first round on Monday, improved to 8-13 this year. "I was so happy to win this match," Govortsova said. "I knew I had to be aggressive and I kept going for my shot. I was trying to play my game and not worry about her ranking."
Govortsova earned her ninth win over a top-20 opponent and her first since beating Agnieszka Radwanska via retirement at New Haven last year. This is also the first time she has reached a quarter-final round this season.
"When I lost my serve at 5-2, I got a little nervous," Govortsova said. "She had nothing to lose and was going for her shots. When it was 5-4 and at break point, I served pretty well."
Stosur, ranked 13th, reached the third round at Wimbledon. The Australian was knocked out in the first round for the first time since early May - a span of five tournaments. "She was playing quite well and I wasn't able to combat what she was able to do," Stosur said. "Things were slowly turning around, and I had a break to go 5-5. I gave myself a chance to get back into the match but I had to win that last game, obviously."
Stosur had 10 double faults, including two in a row at one point. "That didn't set a good tone for the match," she said. "It is inexcusable to get that many in one match."
Seventh-seeded Urszula Radwanska downed American Christina McHale, 6-1, 6-3, in the final match of the night, Daniela Hantuchova beat Yanina Wickmayer 6-2, 4-6, 6-0, in their first-round match.
"I've played for a long time but not for myself until now," Hantuchova said. "I'm very relaxed, playing for myself and enjoying the pressure. I can see the results on the court."
Even a first-round loss at Wimbledon couldn't dampen her spirits, acknowledging Klara Zakopalova just played better. "I had a good two weeks of fitness and training," Hantuchova said. "I felt I played pretty well."
The 46th-ranked Hantuchova, once ranked as high as No. 5, played to the full three sets for the 269th time since 2000. "Why make it easy when I can make it complicated?" she said. "Physically she's very strong and I always enjoy the challenge from her side of the court."
Wickmayer, ranked No. 56, reached the semi-finals of last year's Classic. She is 0-6 against Hantuchova.
In other matches, sixth-seeded American Varvana Lepchenko beat qualifier Michelle Larcher de Brito of Portugal 6-2, 6-4; qualifier Coco Vandeweghe, a finalist last year, downed Romania's Monica Niculescu 6-0, 6-3; Austria's Tamira Paszek was ahead 6-1, 6-7(4), 3-0 and advanced when Russian qualifier Alla Kudryavtseva retired during the third set; and Russian qualifier Vera Dushevina topped New Zealand's Marina Erakovic 6-2, 6-1.
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