World number one Lindsay Davenport and Russia’s Elena Dementieva advanced to the quarterfinals of the Pan Pacific Open tennis tournament with victories over Japanese opponents in Tokyo on Thursday.
American top seed Davenport, seeking a third straight and record fifth Tokyo title, faced a tougher-than-expected challenge before beating Saori Obata 6-4, 6-3 in 64 minutes.
It was Davenport’s first outing since she was beaten by Serena Williams in last Saturday’s Australian Open final in Melbourne.
Sydney Olympic silver medallist Dementieva, seeded fourth, shrugged off a shaky start that saw her hit four double faults to trail 0-2 before scoring a lopsided 6-2, 6-2 win in 63 minutes.
”I lost the first two games and then I won it 6-2, six games in a row. I usually have a slow start,” said Dementieva, runner-up at Roland Garros and the US Open last season.
”But I was very comfortable on the court, because I knew that I just have to find my rhythm and I can win this match, so I think I played very well today, even though I lost my game from the beginning,” she added.
Dementieva said the experience of reaching the finals in the grand slams last season had helped her beat better players, but said there was room for improvement.
”Especially my serve, but for the moment I know must continue to work hard and I feel like if I do, I can do it [winning a grand slam] this year,” added the 23-year-old Russian.
Japan’s number two Shinobu Asagoe kept local hopes alive when last year’s US Open quarterfinalist whipped Roberta Vinci of Italy 6-0, 6-2 for a place against Dementieva on Friday.
”We have only a few tournaments in Japan and I’m really glad that I could reach the quarterfinals and draw people’s attention on my home ground,” said Asagoe, ranked 32nd against Vinci’s 116.
”This is a big step forward to my next stage, but you should reduce her errors to move up further. I think I’ve improved enough to reduce errors and try to hit a winner.”
Russian sixth seed Elena Likhovtseva had a hard time beating former Japan Open champion Jill Craybas of the United States 7-5, 4-6, 6-2, to book a place against Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova of Russia. — Sapa-AFP