“She talks like she’s Serena Williams,” Jankovic said. “Who is she? She’s just another player on the tour.”
Lisicki had seven aces, but also committed 11 double faults and managed to put her first serve in play about half the time.
Serena Williams, seeded first and ranked No. 2, has won nine straight matches and 13 of 14 overall. She next plays Australia’s Samantha Stosur.
“It should be a good match,” Serena Williams said. “She’s improved tons; leaps and bounds. I’ve been a little bit off this whole week. I hope I can get back on.”
Serena Williams finished with 10 aces on Thursday and brushed past her opponent in the first set. Czink, a left-hander, played a stronger second set in forcing Serena Williams to a tie-breaker in a match that lasted nearly two hours.
Serena Williams adjusted to a shorter toss on her serve at the beginning of the match because of a bright noon sun.
“It only affected four or five games, but those games could be crucial,” she said. “I made some key errors, so it was good I ended up winning.”
Venus Williams, seeded second and ranked No. 3, joined her younger sister in the quarter-finals, needing just over an hour to get by Kudryavtseva.
“I’m excited. I love playing against her and it’s been a while,” Sharapova said on Wednesday.Sharapova has won three of the five previous meetings, the last a three-set win in 2007 at Miami. Venus Williams’ only two wins have come at Wimbledon in 2005 and 2007.
■CROATIA OPEN
AP, UMAG, CROATIA
Fresh off winning the German Open last weekend, top-seeded Nikolay Davydenko eased into the Croatia Open quarter-finals by beating Alberto Martin of Spain 6-2, 6-3 on Thursday.
Davydenko’s victory in Hamburg was his 15th career title and returned him to the top 10 at No. 9. After being injured for nearly the first four months, the Russian has won 15 of his last 18 matches.
In the quarter-finals, he will face Simone Bolelli of Italy, who defeated compatriot Fabio Fognini, 6-3, 6-4.
Fifth-seeded Juan Carlos Ferrero overcame Potito Starace of Italy 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 in what he hopes will become a nice coincidence.
Ferrero won his first ATP title in six years in April at Casablanca, and in both Casablanca and Umag he defeated Christophe Rochus of Belgium in the first round and Starace in the second round.
However, his quarter-final opponent will be different. The former No. 1 will meet Maximo Gonzalez of Argentina, who ousted Oscar Hernandez of Spain 6-4, 6-4.
Fourth-seeded Jurgen Melzer of Austria beat Pablo Cuevas 6-4, 6-3, reversing a loss to the Uruguayan last week in Hamburg.
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