Vinci cruises into the Connecticut quarters

New Haven - Italy's Roberta Vinci got off to a dominating start at the WTA Connecticut Open on Wednesday by routing Croatian Ana Konjuh 6-2, 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals.

The 18-year-old Konjuh is ranked 100th in the world and had to get through three rounds of qualifying to reach the main draw at the New Haven, Connecticut tournament.

At the beginning of the match, Konjuh had two break points on Vinci's serve, but the Italian second seed held on.

Konjuh double faulted twice in the sixth game, helping Vinci break serve at love in the sixth game for a 4-2 lead. Vinci then seized control of the match.

Vinci next faces Johanna Larsson, a lucky loser in qualifying who defeated wild-card entrant Shelby Rogers 7-6 (7/1), 6-4 for a berth in the quarter-finals.

The most impressive performance of the day was provided by sixth-seeded Petra Kvitova, who took out Canada's Eugenie Bouchard 6-3, 6-2 for a berth in the quarter-finals.

Kvitova, a three-time Connecticut Open champion, is actually the third-highest seed in the tournament as three of the top five seeds withdrew.

Kvitova next plays Olympic doubles gold medallist Ekaterina Makarova, a player Kvitova beat in the Olympic singles tournament.

Results from the WTA Connecticut Open on Wednesday (x denotes seeded player):

2nd round

Kirsten Flipkens (BEL) bt Caroline Garcia (FRA) 7-6 (7/3), 7-5

Johanna Larsson (SWE) bt Shelby Rogers (USA) 7-6 (7/1), 6-4

Roberta Vinci (ITA x2) bt Ana Konjuh (CRO) 6-2, 6-2

Petra Kvitova (CZE x6) bt Eugenie Bouchard (CAN) 6-3, 6-2