American Scores Second Aussie Open Upset

MELBOURNE, Jan 20, 2005 — -- Abigail Spears of San Diego, Calif., scored a second upset in the 2005 Australian Open with a 7-5, 6-1 victory over 20th seeded Tatiana Golovin of France.

The Moscow-born Golovin, who ranks 24th in the world, lost her serve six times in the two sets under a hail of sharply angled returns and ground strokes from Spears. The struggle was over in 65 minutes.

Spears, 23, ranks 96th in the world. She upset 40th ranked Meghann Shaughnessy of Scottsdale, Ariz, in the first round, 1-6, 6-2, 6-2.

Against Golovin, who turns 17 next Tuesday, Spears took a 5-3 lead in the first set, then faltered. But Golovin couldn't complete the comeback, falling back at 5-5, and losing the set on a combination of her own double faults (six in the first set alone) and a series of unforced errors (13).

In the second set, Spears sparred briefly with Golovin as the score reached 1-1, but then turned on the power, winning the last five games.

Spears' victory sets up a match in the third round with either 12th seeded Patty Schnyder of Switzerland or Michaelia Krajicek of the Netherlands.