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Clijsters, Schnyder through to Swiss quarterfinals

Defending champion Patty Schnyder toppled third-seeded Amelie Mauresmo 6-2, 6-2 on Thursday to secure her place in the Swisscom Challenge quarterfinals.

Earlier, top-seeded Kim Clijsters advanced with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Katarina Srebotnik.

Buoyed by a vocal and highly partisan 5,635-strong crowd, Schnyder needed just 61 minutes to dispatch the world's No. 7.

"I played very well. I just let my arm play and didn't think too much," Schnyder said. "I didn't even have one break point to defend."

Schnyder, ranked 18th, dominated from the start, breaking Mauresmo's opening serve and again to go up 5-2.

Mauresmo was inconsistent. The Frenchwoman used her powerful serve to win the fifth game to love, then pushed Schnyder to deuce in the next. But the Swiss reeled off seven successive games to lead by a set and 4-0.

With the stadium trembling with the cheers of her home crowd, Schnyder locked up her quarterfinal berth after a long, lob-filled rally, with Mauresmo sending an absurd balloon shot into the net.

"The beginning was very important," Schnyder said. "She played very fast and with her spin it was very difficult to stay in the points and rallies.

"Luckily I made the first break. And from there everything went well."

Mauresmo was furious with herself.

"Catastrophic," Mauresmo said. "I am seriously upset. It was a very bad match for me. No excuses.

"She played great and took her chances. I let her dictate the match. I made all the errors."

It was a measure of revenge for Schnyder, who lost to Muaresmo in the second round at Filderstadt last week.

Schnyder will play Jelena Dokic in the quarterfinals, while Clijsters will face another Slovenian qualifier, Tina Pisnik, who ousted sixth-seeded Ai Sugiyama 5-7, 6-3, 6-3.

"Dokic is an adversary I can beat," Schnyder said. "I will have to be present. She will hit every shot and her serve is very strong. But I think I can dominate the game."

Elena Bovina defeated Paola Suarez 6-4, 6-3 and will face Russian compatriot Nadia Petrova in the round of eight.
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