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BERLIN, May 11: Former world number one Martina Hingis eased past fifth seed Elena Dementieva 6-3 6-2 on Thursday to reach the quarterfinals of the German Open and set up a potential clash with Amelie Mauresmo.
Unseeded Hingis, champion on the clay here in 1999, had a surprisingly easy time against the Russian on another day of brilliant sunshine and near-perfect conditions at the Steffi Graf stadium.
World number eight Dementieva had won the pair's last three matches in straight sets but only one of those was since January, when the 25-year-old Hingis made her return from a three-year retirement.
Dementieva, one of six Russians in the last 16 here, had a great chance to get back into the match with Hingis on 0-40 in the fourth game of the second set. But the Swiss held her nerve, and her serve, for 3-1.
In the quarters Hingis will face either world number one Mauresmo of France, who was in imperious form on Wednesday, or Russian teenager Anna Chakvetadze. They play later on Thursday.
Mauresmo, twice a winner in Berlin, beat Hingis 6-2 6-2 in the semifinals in Doha in March, their only meeting since the Swiss player's return, although Hingis has a 7-5 winning record.
French Open champion and number three seed Justine Henin-Hardenne of Belgium also progressed on Thursday, thrashing Russian Maria Kirilenko 6-1 6-0 in under an hour as she goes for a fourth Berlin title.
Moscow-born number two seed Nadia Petrova survived a stern test from unseeded Chinese Zheng Jie, eventually coming through 7-6 4-6 6-4.
Petrova, the world number four, will play compatriot Dinara Safina for a place in the semi-finals. Safina beat Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova earlier on Thursday.
Results (third round):
2-Nadia Petrova (Russia) beat Jie Zheng (China) 7-6(3) 4-6 6-4; 4-Patty Schnyder (Switzerland) beat Anna Smashnova (Israel) 6-3 6-3; 3-Justine Henin-Hardenne (Belgium) beat 15-Maria Kirilenko (Russia) 6-1 6-0; 10-Dinara Safina (Russia) beat 8-Daniela Hantuchova (Slovakia) 6-3 6-2; Martina Hingis (Switzerland) beat 5-Elena Dementieva (Russia) 6-3 6-2; Na Li (China) beat Catalina Castano (Colombia) 6-1 6-0.
FEDERER IN LAST EIGHT
ROME: Roger Federer cruised into the quarterfinals of the Rome Masters with a 6-1 6-4 victory over Radek Stepanek.
The world number one, aiming to add the claycourt crown to Masters titles he won in Indian Wells and Miami this year, was barely stretched as a succession of unforced errors by the 14th seed allowed him to zip through the first set in 22 minutes.
Stepanek steadied himself in the second but never looked likely to make it a contest after he dropped serve in the third game.
Results (third round):
10-Fernando Gonzalez (Chile) beat Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic) 6-2 6-4; 5-Andy Roddick (U.S.) beat Greg Rusedski (Britain) 7-6(4) 6-2; Mario Ancic (Croatia) beat Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo (Spain) 6-3 6-7(4) 7-5; 1-Roger Federer (Switzerland) beat 14-Radek Stepanek (Czech Republic) 6-1 6-4; 4-David Nalbandian (Argentina) beat Alberto Martin (Spain) 7-5 6-4
PRAGUE OPEN RESULTS
Second round : 4-Emilie Loit (France) beat Karolina Sprem (Croatia) 6-4 6-3; 7-Shuai Peng (China) beat Michaela Pastikova (Czech Republic) 6-2 6-4; 5-Samantha Stosur (Australia) beat Akiko Morigami (Japan) 6-1 6-2 Magdalena Rybarikova (Slovakia) beat Milagros Sequera (Venezuela) 7-6(3) 6-0 —Reuters
