World No. 2 Caroline Wozniacki needed a little advice from dad, but Kim Clijsters needed help from no one as she raced into the quarter-finals of the Rogers Cup on Thursday with a 6-2, 6-1 demolition of Kaia Kanepi.
Clijsters, back on center court about 15 hours after a testing three-set win over Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the US, shrugged off the quick turnaround to see off 34th-ranked Kanepi in 55 minutes.
Wozniacki, who lost to Clijsters in last year’s US Open final, followed the Belgian onto Stade Uniprix, but had to battle stubborn Italian Flavia Pennetta for more than two hours before clinching a 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 victory.
PHOTO: REUTERS
With Pennetta dictating play, Wozniacki called for her coach and father, Piotr, late in the second set.
After a lively and animated lecture, the Dane returned to the court to wrap up the set, then roared through the third, breaking the 15th-seeded Italian three times to close out the match.
“He just told me: ‘You’re playing great, but she is too. Hang in there and keep your concentration up and don’t think you’ve won the set because she can come back,’” Wozniacki told reporters.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Clijsters, who has racked up seven straight wins on North American hard courts, sent a menacing message to those eyeing her US Open crown with a ruthless performance against Kanepi.
The fifth seed charged out of the blocks in both sets, breaking Kanepi at the first opportunity to take 3-0 leads and never allowing the Estonian a chance to get into the match.
Clijsters has a 21-2 record on hard courts this season, including her current 13-match winning streak that stretches back to a victory in Miami in the spring.
“It’s always nice to win a tournament and gradually feel your level improve,” said Clijsters, who arrived in Montreal riding the momentum from a victory in Cincinnati. “When you’re down and able to fight back, and win matches like last night, it’s something that is extremely important.”
Australia Open semi-finalist Zheng Jie of China delivered the shock of the day, ending Elena Dementieva’s title defense with a gritty 7-6 (7/3), 6-4 win over the fourth-seeded Russian.
French Open champion and sixth seed Francesca Schiavone of Italy advanced with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Russian Dinara Safina.
In a rematch of the San Diego final two weeks ago, Svetlana Kuznetsova, the first Russian woman to win the US Open when she triumphed in 2004, looked to be hitting her stride at the right time, battling past seventh seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland 6-4, 1-6, 6-3.
Wimbledon finalist Vera Zvonareva also continued to find her touch on the hard courts, the Russian eighth seed breezing into the last eight with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Hungary’s Agnes Szavay.
Tenth-seed Victoria Azarenka of Belarus advanced with 6-3, 6-3 win over ninth seed Li Na of China, while France’s Marion Bartoli stormed into her third hard-court quarter-final in four weeks with a 6-0, 6-1 thrashing of Iveta Benesova of the Czech Republic.
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