U.S. Open: Russian duo into last eight
Russian sixth seed Anna Chakvetadze joined former champion Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarter-finals of the US Open.
In the opening night match, Chakvetadze eased herself into the quarter finals with a 6-1 7-5 win over 16-year-old Austrian sensation Tamira Paszek despite a second set lapse in concentration.
Paszek, who had her left thigh heavily strapped throughout the match, struggled to get going after a week that has seen her post wins over Francesca Schiavone and Patty Schnyder and quickly dropped the first set.
But Chakvetadze, who also reached the quarter finals in Australia in January, hit 23 errors in the second set to let Paszek back into the match before closing out the win at the second time of asking when Paszek hit a backhand long.
Kuznetsova enjoyed a 6-2 6-3 win over Victoria Azarenka of Belarus.
Azarenka had beaten Martin Hingis in the previous round but never really recovered from a poor start against the 2004 champion.
Kuznetsova took full advantage of her opponents timid opening to wrap up a 5-0 lead after just 15 minutes, as Azarenka struggled to cope with Kuznetsova`s powerful ground strokes and the windy conditions.
The Belarusian teenager did however manage to take two consecutive games before the end of the set though which gave her confidence going into the second set.
This seemed to serve her well as she broke in the opening game of the second set and then saved five break points to take an early 2-0 lead.
However, Kuznetsova managed to make adjustments when she needed too, she started to make inroads with her powerful first serve and then took three consecutive games to put the match back on serve.
At 4-3 she then broke Azarenka to love with a delightful lob to move to within a game and while she needed five match points in the final game she finally clinched the victory to set up a quarter final meeting with Agnes Szavay.
The 18-year-old Hungarian beat Julia Vakulenko of the Ukraine 6-4 7-5 to move in to her first Grand Slam quarter-final.
Kuznetsova played Szavay in the final of the WTA event in New Haven the week before the US Open and trailed 4-6 3-0 when the Hungarian quit with a back injury.
Meanwhile, Shahar Peer reached the quarter-finals for the first time with a 6-4 6-1 victory over young Pole Agnieszka Radwanska, who had knocked out Maria Sharapova in the previous round.
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