NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Third-seeded Jennifer Capriati rallied for a 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 victory over Elena Bovina on Wednesday night and advances to the quarterfinals of the Pilot Pen hard-court tournament.

Both hard hitters, Capriati and Bovina locked up in several long rallies. The 6-foot-2½-inch Bovina used her range to run down returns in every corner of the court.

Winless since the 2002 Australian Open, Capriati relied on her stronger service game and aggressive net play. She finally gave herself some breathing room by going up 4-2 in the third set, closing the game with a 110-mph ace.

"It took a while to get into the rhythm," Capriati said. "I just started to be more aggressive in the second set. I just hung in there and waited for an opening."

Serving out for the match, Capriati rushed the net to hit a backhand winner down the line to take a 40-30 lead. She clinched the win with a service winner, pumped her fist and broke into a broad smile to punctuate the end of the match that lasted 2 hours and 11 minutes.

It was the first meeting of the two. Capriati, ranked seventh in the world, hasn't had a match in a couple of weeks. Bovina, the No. 17 ranked player, won both her tour titles last year. She acknowledged fatigue played a factor in the end.

"I gave her those chances because I think I was a little bit tired," Bovina said. "I tried. I tried to do the best that I could. Nobody's perfect."

In other second-round matches, fourth-seeded Daniela Hantuchova was upset by qualifier Cara Black 6-3, 6-2; Magui Serna beat sixth-seeded Magdalena Maleeva 7-6 (4), 6-3; second-seeded Amelie Mauresmo beat Myriam Casanova 7-5, 6-4; and Elena Dementieva eliminated seventh-seeded Conchita Martinez 4-6, 6-2, 6-0.

Black, a doubles specialist from Zimbabwe, didn't even manage to qualify for this event in three previous attempts. Now she's headed to the quarterfinals.

"There's definite advantages to playing qualifying," Black said. "You get some matches under your belt and you win confidence."

Hantuchova, ranked 10th in the world, has been searching for her confidence after a breakthrough year in 2002 that included her only tour title, at Indian Wells. She reached a career-high No. 5 ranking early this season but has struggled lately and has had to field numerous questions about her physical condition.

The WTA Tour media guide lists the 20-year-old Hantuchova at about 5-foot-11 and 123 pounds, but she looks much thinner.

"Technically or physically I'm fine," Hantuchova said. "It's just the mental side I'm really struggling with. I just have to keep working hard and believing in myself. And when you start winning matches, you start getting confidence back."

She came undone against Black with numerous unforced errors, losing nine straight games. She won just two points in the last two games and had four errors in the final game.

Black attacked from all angles, moving Hantuchova around the court.

"I was trying to do my best to mix it up," Black said. "Daniela is just a tough player to play against. She hits the ball so clean, and I really have to work to get my points."

Mauresmo is nursing a strained back that gets aggravated when she serves. She said her back felt good Wednesday, but she was still being careful with the U.S. Open beginning next week.