Updated on
Summary Maria Sharapova will face Sam Stosur in the quarterfinals.
Two-time champion Maria Sharapova overpowered Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic 6-2, 7-6 (5) to advance to the Pan Pacific Open quarterfinals on Wednesday.The second-seeded Sharapova was coming off a tough, three-hour win over British qualifier Heather Watson on Tuesday, while Safarova advanced to the third round on a walkover.Sharapova coasted through the first set and led 3-0 before Safarova mounted a comeback, breaking Sharapova three times to take a 6-5 lead.Sharapova broke Safarova in the final game to force a tiebreaker which she won with an ace after 1 hour, 43 minutes.After a long match yesterday I was really happy to win in two sets, Sharapova said. I had a bit of a letdown in the second set but was really happy that I could close it out in the tiebreaker.Sharapova will face Sam Stosur in the quarterfinals. The eighth-seeded Australian beat Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia 6-4, 7-5.In other matches, Sara Errani of Italy beat Marion Bartoli 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 while Nadia Petrova of Russia beat Petra Martic of Croatia 7-6 (2), 6-7 (1), 6-4.After struggling in the first set, the sixth-seeded Errani broke Bartoli in the second game of the second set and never looked back.It was a tough match on this fast court, said Errani, who has won three titles this year. I didnt start off well but neither did she. She got a little tired in the second set and thats when I started to play better.Top-ranked Victoria Azarenka faced Roberta Vinci of Italy later Wednesday.
