Moscow - Top-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova cruised into the quarter-finals of the Kremlin Cup on Wednesday with a straight-sets win over Alize Cornet to keep her hopes alive of making the WTA Finals.
The two-time Grand Slam title winner, ranked ninth in the
world, won 6-4, 7-5 in one hour 45 minutes.
Russian veteran Kuznetsova needs to win the Moscow title if
she is to make the elite eight-woman field at next week's season finale in
Singapore.
If she fails, then Britain's Johanna Konta will take the
final spot.
"I was battling with myself throughout the match,"
Kuznetsova said.
"I played my normal tennis from the start but after
earning the lead I began to perform feebly for no reason. I was going up and
down throughout the entire match."
In the last eight, Kuznetsova will meet ninth seed Timea
Babos of Hungary, who saw off another Frenchwoman, Kristina Mladenovic 6-1,
6-4.
The hopes of third seeded Carla Suarez Navarro of reaching
the WTA finals were ended after a wrist injury forced her to retire from her
second-round match with Daria Gavrilova of Australia.
Suarez Navarro started with an immediate break but
Moscow-born Gavrilova rallied to take the opening set 6-4 in 49 minutes.
Gavrilova led 3-0 in the second when Suarez Navarro decided to withdraw.
"I think I played pretty well today," Gavrilova
said. "I lost my serve in the very beginning but I felt like I was still
in it. I managed to find the momentum, I had a lot of chances and finally it all
worked out."
Gavrilova will next face seventh seeded Russian Anastasia
Pavlyuchenkova, the 2014 title winner, who ousted 2008 Kremlin Cup champion
Jelena Jankovic of Serbia 6-1, 6-4.
In the ATP event, second seeded Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas made the quarter-finals with a hard-fought 6-4, 6-7 (4/7), 6-4 win over local favourite, Evgeny Donskoy.
ATP/WTA Kremlin Cup results in Moscow on Wednesday (x denotes seeding):
Men
2nd rd
Albert Ramos-Vinolas (ESP x2) bt Evgeny Donskoy (RUS) 6-4, 6-7 (4/7), 6-4
Fabio Fognini (ITA) bt Paolo Lorenzi (ITA x7) 7-5, 4-6, 6-1
Stephane Robert (FRA) bt Lukas Rosol (CZE) 7-5, 6-1
1st rd
Andrei Kuznetsova (RUS x8) bt Guido Pella (ARG) 6-3, 5-7, 6-2
Alexander Bublik (RUS) bt Konstantin Kravchuk (RUS) 1-6, 6-3, 6-3
Damir Dzumhur (BIH) bt Karen Khachanov (RUS) 3-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-4
Women
2nd rd
Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS x1) bt Alize Cornet (FRA) 6-4, 7-5
Timea Babos (HUN x9) bt Kristina Mladenovic (FRA) 6-1, 6-4
Elina Svitolina (UKR x4) bt Yulia Putintseva (KAZ) 6-2, 6-2
Ana Konjuh (CRO) bt Anna Blinkova (RUS) - walkover
Darya Kasatkina (RUS x8) bt Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) 6-4, 6-1
Julia Goerges (GER) bt Elena Vesnina (RUS x5) 7-5, 6-0
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) bt Jelena Jankovic (SRB) 6-1, 6-4
Daria Gavrilova (AUS) bt Carla Suarez Navarro (ESP x3) 6-4, 3-0 - retired