Yeah given that she's the 3rd seed, it could have been a lot, lot better.
In the same quarter as Nastya P too
Lapushchenkova and Amanda have played once before, in the quarters of the Minsk 25K in November, on these very same courts. The Russian won 6-4, 6-3 Hopefully Amanda can get revenge tomorrow.
Lapush has only played 1 tournament this year, in Prague in early Feb. She lost in straights. 2006 was a brilliant season for her, especially given that she missed several months due to injury. She made four 10K finals and then stepped up to 25Ks with success - two semis and a quarter.
Really good win for Amanda, revenge for last year's defeat in Minsk and perhaps a sign that her season is starting to come good. Win a lot to defend in April, she could do with some good performances over the next few weeks.
As Johnny says, another tough one today. Panova came through a tight match in rd1, defeating a qualifier in a 3rd set tiebreak. Panova is ranked 325, she's been a bit of a nemisis for British players so far this year defeating Natasha Khan, Anna Smith, Danielle Brown (twice) and Julia Bone. Her best result of 2007 so far, came in Sunderland at the start of the year where she made the semis of the 10K. Panova's an extremely hard hitter from the baseline, she plays a high-risk game, hitting very flat and really going for all her shots. She's got a good serve and sometimes attacks the net but this is more of an occasional surprise tactic as she's not overly comfortable up there.
Of all tyrannies a tyranny exercised for the good of its victim may be the most oppressive.... those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience
Brilliant win for Amanda, up to a career best ranking next week as a result and close to breaking the top 200 now.
She takes on the number 5 seed, Olgo Govortsova of Belarus for a place in the final. Govortsova has yet to lose a set in the tournament so far. She is ranked 253, and Minsk is her hometown where she still lives.
This year, Govortsova was a finalist in $50K St Paul and a semi-finalist at $75K Midland, both times as a qualifier. She has clearly had a good start to the year playing predominantly in the US, although she lost in qualifying for $75K Las Vegas last week. This is her first European event in 2007.
Going to be a real tough one given the results Govortsova has had so far. Hopefully Amanda's unorthodox game will unsettle her, she surely can't have faced many net-rushers in the past.
Unfortunately Amanda's run ended against the on-form Belarussian today....
O Govortsova (Bel) bt A Keen (GB)(3) 6-3, 7-5
Disappointing but Govortsova's been in fantastic form so far this year, playing well above her ranking. Amanda's form has been lean up until this tournament, good to see her getting some wins again, unfortunately the indoor season is now nearly over. Amanda will move up to a career high of approx 208
Hopefully Amanda can get revenge tomorrow.
