Kirilenko, Stosur advance to Kremlin Cup quarterfinals

Moscow (4E Sports) – Maria Kirilenko and Samantha Stosur moved into the quarterfinal round Thursday after vanquishing their respective opponents at the 2012 Kremlin Cup Open.

Kirilenko continued to do well on court despite the pressure of playing before her countryman, toppling compatriot Yaroslava Shvedova 7-5, 6-4. The Russian beauty will take on Sofia Arvidsson, who stunned Marion Bartoli 6-3, 6-0.

Stosur, the former US Open champion, punched her ticket to the next round with a 6-4, 6-3 win against Alize Cornet while former world’s no.1 Ana Ivanovic also advanced with 6-1, 6-4 victory against Valeria Solovieva.

On the men’s side, no.2 seed Janko Tipsarevic subdued Ernests Gulbis 6-3, 6-4 while no.3 seed Tommy Haas took down Jesse Levine 6-4, 6-2.

The action at the Luxemburg Open also heats up as top-seeds Julia Goerges and Jelena Jankovic easily dispatched their opponents to move into the next round.

The seond-seeded Goerges progressed after Monica Niculescu retired in the second set 6-4, 3-1 while Jankovic blasted Andrea Petkovic 7-5, 6-0.

Venus Williams, multiple Grand Slam champion, defeated Mona Barthel 7-6, 6-4.

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