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Jankovic downs Wozniacki

Indian Wells - Jelena Jankovic reached the quarter-finals of the Indian Wells ATP Masters and WTA tournament on Tuesday with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Caroline Wozniacki in a battle of former champions.

In a rematch of the 2010 final in the California desert won by Jankovic, the seventh-seeded Serb showed no sign of the back trouble that required several visits from the trainer during her third-round victory over Magdalena Rybarikova on Sunday.

"Yesterday I was a little bit scared," Jankovic said of the pain that began when she wrenched her back on a point early in the match against Rybarikova.

"If I had to play on Monday, I probably wouldn't be able to go on court."

Since her 2010 triumph here, Jankovic had dropped five straight decisions to Denmark's Wozniacki.

And with golf-star fiance Rory McIlroy courtside, Wozniacki was quick to gain the upper hand in this one, breaking for a 3-1 lead in the first.

But Jankovic reeled off 10 straight games to put the match out of reach.

Serving to extend the opening set, Wozniacki couldn't put a first serve in play and was broken at love.

The Dane, who won the title in 2011 and was runner-up last year to Maria Sharapova, was unable to convert three break points in the fifth game of the second frame.

After Wozniacki finally held for 5-1 in the second, Jankovic wrapped up the win in just 64 minutes, returning to the quarter-finals here for the first time since her 2010 triumph.

Jankovic next faces either second-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland or Alize Cornet, the 22nd seed from France.

Chinese top seed Li Na was to take on Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak under the floodlights on Tuesday night for a quarter-final berth.

In other early matches, sixth-seeded Romanian Simona Halep reached the last eight with a 6-2, 1-6, 6-4 victory over rising Canadian star Eugenie Bouchard.

Bouchard broke for a 4-3 lead in the third set, but Halep immediately broke back and broke again in the final game.

Halep will face Australian qualifier Casey Dellacqua, who advanced on a walkover when American Lauren Davis withdrew with a stomach ailment.

Results on Tuesday from the ATP Masters and WTA BNP Paribas Open (x denotes seeding):

Men

3rd rd

Fernando Verdasco (ESP x30) bt Richard Gasquet (FRA x8) 7-6 (7/5), 6-1

Ernests Gulbis (LAT x20) bt Grigor Dimitrov (BUL x15) 2-6, 6-1, 7-5

Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP) bt Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (8/6)

Feliciano Lopez (ESP) bt Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) 1-6, 6-3, 6-4

Julien Benneteau (FRA) bt Dominic Thiem (AUT) 7-6 (7/4), 6-3

Marin Cilic (CRO x24) bt Tommy Robredo (ESP x16) 6-4, 6-3

Novak Djokovic (SRB x2) bt Alejandro Gonzalez (COL) 6-1, 3-6, 6-1

Women

4th rd

Dominika Cibulkova (SVK x12) bt Petra Kvitova (CZE x8) 6-3, 6-2

Flavia Pennetta (ITA x20) bt Camila Giorgi (ITA) 6-2, 6-1

Simona Halep (ROM x6) bt Eugenie Bouchard (CAN x18) 6-2, 1-6, 6-4

Casey Dellacqua (AUS) bt Lauren Davis (USA) walkover

Jelena Jankovic (SRB x7) bt Caroline Wozniacki (DEN x10) 6-3, 6-1

Agnieszka Radwanska (POL x2) bt Alize Cornet (FRA x22) 7-5, 6-3


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