ROME, May 18: Former champion Martina Hingis pounced on 32 unforced errors from off-form Francesca Schiavone, winning 6-0, 7-5 to earn a place in the quarterfinals of the Rome Masters Thursday.

The unseeded Hingis, five times a Grand Slam champion as teenager, crushed the top Italian hope without ceremony in less than 90 minutes and the has yet to drop a set in three career meetings with Schiavone.

Hingis, who finished runner-up in her Rome debut in 1996 and won in 1998, last played the Foro Italico in 2001, reaching the semi-finals before losing to France's current world number one Amelie Mauresmo.

The Swiss was helped along by Schiavone's mass of 32 errors and the seed's inability to convert on 12 of 13 break points.

Two Russians advanced in blistering spring sunshine, with fifth seed Elena Dementieva getting past German Anna-Lena Groenefeld 7-6 (7/1), 3-6, 6-1.

Seventh seed Svetlana Kuznetsova won a grudge match between compatriots and 2004 Grand Slam titleholders as the former US Open winner beat past Roland Garros queen Anastasia Myskina 6-1, 6-4.

Italian qualifier Romina Oprandi, playing in only the second WTA event of her career, humiliated fragile Russian Vera Zvonareva 6-0, 6-1 to reach a dream quarterfinal place at the Rome Masters Thursday.

The defeat in 71 minutes was the most embarrassing of Zvonareva's career, her previous worst a 6-2, 6-0 hammering last year at the German Open by Czech Republic's Kveta Peschke.

Qualifier Oprandi, who grew up in the Swiss capital of Bern and only obtained Italian nationality a few years ago, began her unexpected run of form from a qualifying start at the Foro Italico.

Results (third round):

7-Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia) beat 10-Anastasia Myskina (Russia) 6-1 6-4; Jelena Jankovic (Serbia and Montenegro) beat Katarina Srebotnik (Slovenia) 7-6(7 ) 6-1 Martina Hingis (Switzerland) beat 8-Francesca Schiavone (Italy) 6-0 7-5; 5-Elena Dementieva (Russia) beat 11-Anna-Lena Groenefeld (Germany) 7-6(1) 3-6 6-1: Romina Oprandi (Italy) beat Vera Zvonareva (Russia) 6-0 6-1.

HAMBURG: Mario Ancic, the man whose win clinched the Davis Cup for Croatia, scored another notable victory with a remarkable come-back which carried him to the quarterfinals of the Masters Series.

Ancic was a set and a break down to James Blake, the fifth-seeded American, and within two points of defeat at 3-5 in the second set before recovering to win the match of the tournament so far, by 4-6, 7-5, 7-6.

Blake also led 5-3 in the final set, and although he blamed himself for not closing either of these opportunities out, he did not do nearly as much wrong as he suggested.

The 12th-seeded Ancic won because his forehand was a colossal weapon, and his spirit grew passionately strong the more the match went on, much as it had when he participated in Croatia's historic first round Davis Cup win against the United States last year.

The six-feet five-inch Croatian was not as fast a mover as Blake, but he made up for it with fire and fight, and with a bombardment of big serves at crucial moments, especially in the deciding tie-break.

These happened after Ancic went from 2-3 down to 4-3 up with points against the Blake serve, and followed it with two successive thundering aces which made his opponent sag.

But the psychology-changing moments really came after Ancic had fought back from within two points of defeat at deuce in the ninth game of the second set, and went on to take five games in a row.

Blake then fought back from within a point of going 1-3 down in the final set, but could not lift his standard further in the closing phases.

Results (third round):

8-Tommy Robredo (Spain) beat Paul-Henri Mathieu (France) 6-3 6-3; 12-Mario Ancic (Croatia) beat 5-James Blake (U.S.) 4-6 7-5 7-6(3); Max Mirnyi (Belarus) beat Gilles Simon (France) 6-3 6-2; 15-Radek Stepanek (Czech Republic) beat Robin Soederling (Sweden) 6-3 6-2; 16-David Ferrer (Spain) beat Juan Carlos Ferrero (Spain) 6-2 6-4.—Agencies