CINCINNATI, July 20: Top seed and defending champion Patty Schnyder of Switzerland crushed American Abigail Spears 6-1, 6-0 on Wednesday to storm into the quarter-finals of the Cincinnati Open.
After needing three sets and a tie-break to see off Lilia Osterloh in her opening match on Monday, Schnyder, the world number eight, needed just 53 minutes to dispose of the qualifier.
Schnyder, who has not won a title since winning in Cincinnati a year, raced to a 3-0 lead before allowing Spears a brief moment of hope claiming her only game at 3-1.
After that the veteran Swiss swept through the next nine games to keep her title defence on track.
Schnyder will next meet ninth-seeded Sania Mirza of India, who advanced with a 6-1, 0-6, 6-1 over Finland's Emma Laine.
“I knew I had to work on some things after the first match, I didn't expect such a big difference after just one day,” Schnyder told reporters.
Fourth seed Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia tamed China's Meng Yuan 7-6 (7-3), 6-1 to reach the last eight while American Amy Frazier rolled to a 6-3, 6-1 win over eighth-seeded Argentine Gisela Dulko and Russia's Vera Zvonareva swept past French seventh seed Tatiana Golovin 6-3, 6-0 in the day's only first-round contest.
Wednesday’s results:
Second round: 1-Patty Schnyder (Switzerland) beat Abigail Spears (US) 6-1, 6-0; 9-Sania Mirza (India) beat Emma Laine (Finland) 6-1, 0-6, 6-1; 4-Katarina Srebotnik (Slovenia) beat Meng Yuan (China) 7-6 (7-3), 6-1; Amy Frazier (US) beat 8-Gisela Dulko (Argentina) 6-3, 6-1.
First round: Vera Zvonareva (Russia) beat 7-Tatiana Golovin (France) 6-3, 6-0.
SAFIN SINKS TO NEW LOW
INDIANAPOLIS: The fading career of former world number one Marat Safin reached a new low on Wednesday when he was beaten in straight sets by the 512th-ranked Wesley Whitehouse at the RCA Championships.
Safin, who has been struggling to recover from a knee injury, went down 6-1, 6-4 to the South African qualifier, who claimed only his second ATP win of the year.
“I never felt comfortable on the court,” Safin told reporters. “He played well and I was never in the match.”
The formerly swaggering Safin dropped to 12-12 on the season, his last victory coming over Greg Rusedski in the Wimbledon first round.
Safin's Russian compatriots Dmitry Tursunov and Igor Kunitsyn both advanced into the third round.
Seventh seed Tursunov beat Benjamin Becker 6-3, 5-7, 2-1 as the German retired with heat exhaustion. Number 15 Kunitsyn defeated Lars Burgsmuller 7-5, 6-2.
Top seed James Blake ended a three-year sequence without a victory at the tournament by eclipsing Thailand's Danai Udomchoke 7-6 (7-5), 6-4.
Thailand's Paradorn Srichaphan began his hardcourt campaign by coming out on top in a serving duel with Australian qualifier Wayne Arthurs, winning 7-6 (7-4), 6-7 (4-7), 6-4.
The second-round victory left the eighth seed breathing easier following seven first-round losses on clay and a first-round defeat at Wimbledon.
Paradorn, ranked 40th, improved his 2006 mark to 15 wins and 16 defeats as he produced 16 aces on a steamy afternoon.
But his effort was dwarfed by 29 cannonballs fired over by Arthurs, at 35 the oldest man in the field.
German fifth seed Tommy Haas defeated Swiss George Bastl 6-3, 6-3.
Belgian fifth seed Xavier Malisse beat Korea's Lee Hyung-taik 7-6 (7-4), 6-1 but number six Dominik Hrbaty lost to Dane Kenneth Carlsen 6-3, 6-2.
Results:
Second round: 1-James Blake (US) beat Danai Udomchoke (Thailand) 7-6 (7-5), 6-4; Wesley Whitehouse (South Africa) beat 16-Marat Safin (Russia) 6-1, 6-4; 7-Dmitry Tursunov (Russia) beat Benjamin Becker (Germany) 6-3, 5-7, 2-1 – Becker retired; 15-Igor Kunitsyn (Russia) beat Lars Burgsmueller (Germany) 7-5, 6-2; 8-Paradorn Srichaphan (Thailand) beat Wayne Arthurs (Australia) 7-6 (7-4), 6-7 (4-7), 6- 4; 10-Nicolas Mahut (France) beat Thiago Alves (Brazil) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3; Kenneth Carlsen (Denmark) beat 6-Dominik Hrbaty (Slovakia) 6-3, 6-2; 9-Xavier Malisse (Belgium) beat Hyung-Taik Lee (South Korea) 7-6 (7-4), 6-1; 5-Tommy Haas (Germany) beat George Bastl (Switzerland) 6-3, 6-3; 12-Gilles Muller (Luxembourg) beat Paul Capdeville (Chile) 6-2, 6-3.—Reuters
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