Srebotnik moves on to second round of Bank of the West Classic
STANFORD, Calif. -- Seventh-seeded Katarina Srebotnik beat Olga Poutchkova, 6-3, 6-4 on Monday to advance to the second round of the Bank of the West Classic.
Srebotnik was upset in the first round of two previous tournaments in which she was seeded eighth or higher. The 25th-ranked Srebotnik reached the third round of all three Grand Slam events this year. Poutchkova lost her fifth straight.
Eleni Danilidou outlasted Amber Liu, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1, in a later match that lasted over 2 hours.
"Amber was getting a little tired and I was way more aggressive than her beginning in the second set," the 41st-ranked Danilidou said. "I really couldn't see in the first set; there were shadows on the court."
Danilidou plays top-seeded Anna Chakvetadze in the second round on Thursday.
Liu, a two-time NCAA singles champion while at Stanford, called her return "sentimental; a home away from home."
In other matches, Meilen Tu beat Meghann Shaughnessy, 7-6 (3), 6-1 to reach the second round for the 11th time in 13 tournaments; and Shuai Peng topped Elena Bovina, 6-3, 6-4.
"It's just a good way to start," Peng said. "[Bovina] hits hard so I tried to hit hard first."
Peng meets third-seeded Daniela Hantuchova in the second round.
Shaughnessy, ranked 40th, dropped to 0-7 on hardcourt this year.
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press
