Anna K smashes the champion

The most talented player never to have won a tournament blew away defending champion and doubles partner Natasha Zvereva in the Direct Line Championships at windswept Devonshire Park.

Kournikova's 6-3, 6-1 victory took only 65 minutes and suggested she will not have to wait too much longer for that elusive first title.

"I played well for my first match," said the satisfied fourth seed.

"I did not make any mistakes. It was tough for me to play Natasha, because she is a great player on grass.

"She knows how to break somebody's game.

"I was very patient in the rallies and I didn't let her come to the net a lot by keeping the ball deep."

Kournikova was broken twice in the first set, but Zvereva only held serve twice in the whole match.

The Russian teenager made sure their was no chance of her launching another memorable comeback by reeling off the last six games.

"She was trying to the last moment," Kournikova added.

"She's had some of the greatest comebacks, like here in the final last year, so you can never relax against her.

"This match was very good for me. I saw how well I can play without making too many errors. I was very consistent, so it was one more.

"I have been working really hard this last week and I think I am finding the form I showed against Hingis in Hamburg (lost in three sets in the quarter-finals).

"Right now my game is maturing a lot."

Kournikova's early arrival at Eastbourne clearly paid off.

She has been practising for the last week and adapted better than most to the gusty conditions.

There was also no sign of discomfort from a recent ankle injury.

"I wasn't thinking about it until I slipped at 4-1 up in the second set,"she said.

Despite exuding confidence on court, Kournikova is playing down her prospects of winning her first tournament here or at Wimbledon next week, where she has a tough first round match against world No 10 Sandrine Testud.

The glamour girl, up against American No. 8 seed Chanda Rubin in the quarter-finals today, said: "I haven't really thought about Wimbledon.

"I am concentrating on my next match and this tournament.

"It is far too early to talk about winning here. I have a very tough match."

Rubin, a 6-1, 7-5 winner against Russian qualifier Tatiana Panova, pushed Kournikova to three sets in the last 32 last year.

Second seed Nathalie Tauziat, last year's runner-up, toppled another Russian qualifier, Anastasia Myskina, 6-4, 6-2 to set up an intriguing all-French quarter-final against sixth seed Julie Halard-Decugis.

In her much-publicised and controversial book, The Underside of Women's Tennis, Tauziat made some disparaging references to Halard-Decugis' husband and coach, Arnaud.

The book read: "I know of one husband who lives his life through the achievements of his wife.

"He does everything for her, entering her for tournaments and getting her racquets re-stringed.

"He even holds the door for her when she goes to the toilet.

"When his wife plays in doubles he has been heard to say we have been playing very well today."

Halard-Decugis, who triumphed 6-2, 6-4 yesterday in another all-French clash against Nathalie Dechy, insists today's tussle with former doubles partner Tauziat is not a grudge game.

"It doesn't make any difference who she is or what she wrote.

"It's like any other match. Things are not that bad between us."

Luxembourg's Anne Kremer demonstrated her liking for Devonshire Park by reaching the quarter-finals for the second year running.

Kremer, conqueror of Monica Seles 12 months ago, eased past Croatian Silvija Talaja 6-2, 6-2 and now faces pint-sized third seed Amanda Coetzer.

On a lighter note, there was an embarrassing slip of the tongue by the announcer calling Martina Navratilova for the resumption of her rain-delayed doubles match last night.

"Martini" Navratilova prompted roars of laughter in the press room.

Navratilova and Mariaan de Swardt were then left feeling rather punchdrunk by Tauziat and Ai Sugiyama, who ran out winners 6-4, 7-6.