BUOYED by a recent win over Venus Williams, Russian teenager Elena Bovina believes she can win a top-five spot in the women's game.

Bovina, 19, has lived in the shadow of the highly marketable Anna Kournikova, the last Russian to hold a top-10 spot.

But unlike glamour-Anna, who is winless on the WTA tour, Bovina has won two career singles titles.

She reached the quarter-finals of the US Open in September before losing in three sets to former champion Lindsay Davenport and came from behind to beat Venus 7-5 in the third in an exhibition series in Dublin three weeks ago.

"That win proved to me I can do it against the best," Bovina said.

"I always knew I had the ability. It was just a matter of confidence and understanding how to do it.

"I want to be top five, but I haven't set a goal on when or how long. I need to do some more work on my game."

At 189 centimetres and "still growing", Bovina exploits this advantage with a lethal serve.

"I have been working in the off-season on being more aggressive," she said.

Bovina, ranked No.26 in the world and the No.4 seed here, moved into the second round with a 7-5 6-4 win over compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova.

In an entertaining match Bovina's experience proved decisive.

Bovina served for the match in the ninth game of the second set after breaking Kuznetsova in the previous game, but her pugnacious opponent refused to concede, breaking back in the next game, which she set up with a great forehand cross-court pass.

Kuznetsova saved a match point on her serve in the 10th game with a great defensive lob, which Bovina allowed to bounce before being passed with a cross-court forehand.

Bovina was lucky with netcords falling her way on the final two points of the match.