KEY POINTS:
Marina Erakovic has her own version of the Field of Dreams philosophy - say it and it will happen.
And it seems to be working just as well as "build it and they will come" did for Kevin Costner in the classic Hollywood baseball drama.
Erakovic talked up her prospects before her quarter-final against world No 22 and top ASB Classic seed Vera Zvonareva and then delivered in stunning fashion yesterday.
Before the match, New Zealand's top tennis player, ranked 152, said Zvonareva was the one with something to fear. Her game was an unknown quantity to the classy Russian and she would have the crowd behind her.
At the time, her words seemed like plucky but misplaced bravado. They turned out to be prophetic as the Croatian-born Kiwi won a battle of nerves in a third set tiebreaker.
Erakovic stuck to her guns ahead of today's semifinal, even dropping in a reference to one of the greatest figures in sporting history.
"When Muhammad Ali was saying 'I'm the greatest' he was saying 'I want to build myself up, I want to be the best'," she said.
"When you do that you start to believe it more and more. It is a good thing to do. You have got to be out here with a positive attitude, especially at the top level. You can't be without it."
Having knocked off the top seed, Erakovic will definitely be in with a chance against the winner of last night's final quarter-final.
"If I can do it [today], I'll do it tomorrow."
In a match of dramatic swings, Erakovic clinched the first set after capitalising on a suspect line call on her first break point of the match.
Zvonareva fell apart and dropped her serve again to lose the set 6-3. But she regained her composure to blow away Erakovic 6-2 in the second.
Having broken Erakovic in the first game of the third, Zvonareva seemed on the verge of running away with it. But Erakovic clung on and broke back to level at 4-4.
"She got a little mentally frustrated. I was coming in at her, staying with her. She must not have liked that at all," Erakovic said.
She then held for 5-4 and got within two points of victory before succumbing to a bout of nerves. A run of eight points in nine gave Zvonareva a chance to serve for the match but Erakovic broke her to love to force the tiebreak.
The key moment of the tiebreak came at 5-5 when an Erakovic backhand took the net and dropped over for the winner.
"That was a freak of nature point," Erakovic said. "Call it luck, you've got to have some."
She didn't need any on match point, dominating the rally before ending it with a backhand volley.
For the second day in a row Erakovic had the better of the close line calls but Zvonareva refused to blame the officiating.
"I played very bad today," she said. "She is a good player. I tried my best but it was not enough to win. Whatever I tried did not work.
"She played better than 150 in the world. It is tough to concentrate when the crowd is against you. I'm sure it's the same when I play in Russia."
Erakovic may have received a few hometown calls but she also served better than her more illustrious opponent. She sent down eight aces to Zvonareva's three and had six fewer double faults.
The only disappointment of the day for Erakovic came when her partner Michaella Krajicek withdrew from the doubles citing a wrist injury. The upside for Erakovic was that she will be fresher for today's semifinal.
Drawing on her experience
Lindsay Davenport's relentless progress towards the women's Classic title continued apace yesterday as she rolled over Italian battler Sara Erani in straight sets.
Davenport will face fifth seed Tamira Paszek in the first semifinal after the fast-rising Austrian 17-year-old upset second seed Russian glamour girl Maria Kirilenko 6-1, 6-3.
Davenport said she wasn't at all fazed about playing an opponent 14 years her junior.
"One thing you do learn on this job is you have to kind of throw age and size and a lot of things out the window," she said.
"But young players are typically eager and with not a lot of fear, but they do lack some experience."
Paszek's power-focused approach would also be a nice change after playing soft-hitting grafters in the last two rounds, she said.
She admitted she had been caught up in the excitement surrounding Marina Erakovic's run to the semifinals.
"It is exciting to see a tournament get so much energy.
"As a competitor you always want to see that, to have the crowd interested, so I'm hoping she'll continue to do well."
After struggling in the first round Paszek has steadily improved.
She probably lacks the serve to trouble Davenport but she will go into the match full of confidence.
"I want to play my own game and I feel at home here," she said.
TODAY'S SCHEDULE
SEMIFINALS
All matches Centre Court
SOVEREIGN SINGLES
* From noon
Lindsay Davenport (USA) v (6) Tamira Paszek (AUT) followed by (WC) Marina Erakovic (NZL) v (3) Katarina Srebotnik (SLO) or Aravene Rezai (FRA)
SOVEREIGN DOUBLES (1) Emilie Loit (FRA)/Meilen Tu (USA) v Mariya Koryttseva (UKR)/Lilia Osterloh (USA)
