Tennis: Svetlana Kuznetsova eased into the quarter-finals of the US Open today with a 6-2 6-3 triumph over 18-year-old Victoria Azarenka.
The 2004 winner was rarely troubled by the player who shocked 16th seed and 1997 champion Martina Hingis in round three, the Belorussian dropping the first five games.
Azarenka enjoyed a much better start to the second set, breaking fourth seed Kuznetsova and saving five break points in a seven-deuce game for a 2-0 lead.
But she could not maintain her advantage, allowing the fourth seed to win the next three games.
Kuznetsova recorded the decisive break with a forehand winner in the eighth game. She rallied from 15-40 down to close out the contest on her fifth match point.
The 22-year-old Russian awaits either Agnes Szavay of Hungary or Ukrainian Julia Vakulenko in the last eight.
The only other top-10 seed left in the bottom half of the draw is Kuznetsova's compatriot Anna Chakvetadze, the sixth seed. The 20-year-old will take on 16-year-old Austrian Tamira Paszek in a night match.
Playing in her first US Open, Paszek edged number 11 seed Patty Schnyder 4-6 6-4 7-6 (7/1) in the third round.
The winner will face either 18th seed Shahar Peer of Israel or number 30 seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland in the quarter-finals.
Peer beat 13th seed Nicole Vaidisova in the third round, while Radwanska pulled off the shock of the tournament with a 6-4 1-6 6-2 triumph over second seed and defending champion Maria Sharapova.