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Chakvetadze, Hantuchova reach Paris Indoor Open quarters

PARIS: Top seeds Anna Chakvetadze of Russia and Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia both got off to winning starts by booking their spots in the quarter-finals of the WTA Paris Indoor Open here on Thursday.

Recipients of first round byes, number one seed Chakvetadze needed just one hour to get past France’s Nathalie Dechy, 6-1, 6-3, while second seed Hantuchova needed 2hr 9min to once again dismiss Slovenia’s Katerina Srebotnik, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3. Australian Open semi-finalist Hantuchova has never lost to Srebotnik in their seven meetings. Ukrainian Kateryna Bondarenko later booked a quarter-final showdown with fourth-seeded Russian Elena Dementieva when she beat countrywoman Yuliana Fedak 6-0, 6-3. Bondarenko, who eliminated defending champion Nadia Petrova in the previous round, won the first nine games of the tie to claim her fifth victory in as many meetings with Fedak. World number seven Chakvetadze dominated her 64th-ranked opponent from the outset of their second round tie, wrapping up the first set in 23 minutes. She powered 3-0 ahead in the second, before a lapse in concentration allowed Dechy to convert the first of her four break chances and she fought back to level 3-3.

But four unforced errors, including a double fault, cost Dechy the seventh game, allowing the Russian take a firm grip on the tie, as she claimed her second win over the 28-year-old Frenchwoman in as many meetings. “Because it was my first indoor match this season I didn’t expect it to be so easy,” said the 20-year-old Russian. “Nathalie didn’t play her best. She started to play better in the second set when I lost my concentration and struggled a bit with the serve.” She next plays either two-time champion Amelie Mauresmo, the sixth seed, who eliminated the Russian in the quarter-finals here last year, or Greece’s Eleni Daniilidou. Srebotnik, 26, was left wondering how she once again failed to get past 24-year-old Hantuchova. The 28th-ranked Slovenian has never won on any surface against Slovakia’s world number eight since they first met in competition six years ago. And despite losing the first set Srebotnik kept her hopes alive by dominating the second.

But in a tense third set Hantuchova dug in, saving two break points on her serve in the fifth game, as did Srebonik in the following game, before the Slovak pulled ahead for 5-3 and wrapped up the tie on her first match point. “She always brings out the best in me. The fact that I’ve beaten her before helped me especially on the crucial points,” said Hantuchova. She next meets seventh seed Agnes Szavay of Hungary for a place in the semi-finals. The Hungarian won their only previous tie in New Haven last year. afp

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