First seed Elena Dementieva of Russia cruised into the quarter-finals at the Malaysian Open with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Serbian Bojana Jovanovski yesterday.
Dementieva easily blunted a challenge from Jovanovski with powerful baseline shots and accurate hits.
The convincing victory was wrapped up in 1 hour 11 minutes after Jovanovski committed a series of unforced errors.
Dementieva’s hopes of winning the tournament were boosted by an early exit of second seed Li Na of China on Tuesday.
Earlier, fourth seed Alisa Kleybanova of Russia advanced to the quarter-finals after defeating compatriot Alla Kudryavtseva.
In another second round match, Australia’s Anastasia Rodionova ousted world No. 136 Ekaterina Ivanova of Russia 6-2, 6-2 in just over 60 minutes to roll on, while Japan’s Ayumi Morita crushed China’s Yan Zi 6-2, 6-1 in 1 hour, 13 minutes.
Morita will face the winner of today’s second-round match between Germany’s Tatiana Malek and South Africa’s Chanelle Scheepers
A delighted Kleybanova attributed her win to her strong serves and her ability to remain calm in the blistering tropical heat.
“I am happy I won the match. I had to be mentally strong to survive the heat,” she told reporters. “I have always won against her [Kudryavtseva] but it was a tough fight. I just kept my focus on the game to win every point.”
“My serve was good today. It gave me confidence in the match and mentally I was very strong. I was fighting [for every point] until the end,” Kleybanova said.
The cool Kleybanova won 7-6 (7/4), 6-3, 6-4 in three hours.
Kleybanova will play against Rodionova in the quarter-finals.
“I have never played against her but I will be mentally prepared amid the hot weather. [The heat] will make play tough for everybody,” she said.
In the doubles, Taiwan’s Chan Yung-jan teamed up with China’s Zheng Jie to defeat Yayuk Basuki of Indonesia and Yurika Sema of Japan 6-1, 3-6, 10-3.
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