Frenchwoman Amelie Mauresmo again found it difficult, Russian Anastasia Myskina again found it easy, but both players advanced to the quarterfinals of the Rogers Cup on Thursday.
The second-seeded Mauresmo dropped the second set for the second straight round but nevertheless triumphed over No. 14 Elena Bovina of Russia, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 in their third-round encounter at the $1.3 million hardcourt event. On Tuesday, Mauresmo overcame a poor second set to beat Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand, 6-4, 1-6, 6-2.
Mauresmo awaits No. 12 Karolina Sprem of Croatia, who beat No. 7 Ai Sugiyama of Japan, 6-3, 6-4. Myskina, the French Open champion and No. 3 seed, reached the quarterfinals with a 6-4, 6-0 victory over No. 15 Chanda Rubin of the U.S. On Wednesday, Myskina beat Spaniard Aranxta Parra Santonja by the reverse score, 6-0, 6-4. Myskina next faces No. 13 Magdalena Maleeva of Bulgaria, a 6-4, 6-3 winner over No. 9 Paola Suarez of Argentina.
Also on Thursday, fifth seed Jennifer Capriati of the U.S. defeated Mary Pierce of France, 6-2, 6-4, to set up a quarterfinal clash with Elena Likhovtseva. The Russian cruised past No. 11 Francesca Schiavone of Italy, 6-2, 6-3. Frenchwoman Tatiana Golovin rallied to defeat Argentina Gisela Dulko, 6-7 (0-7), 6-3, 6-4.
She will face 10th seed Vera Zvonareva, who beat Russian compatriot Maria Sharapova, the sixth seed and Wimbledon champion, in the featured night match, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.