Amelie Mauresmo
PARIS - Amelie Mauresmo of France needed less than 10 minutes Thursday to reach the quarter-finals of the Open Gaz de France, advancing when Eleni Daniilidou quit the match because of the flu.
The sixth-seeded Mauresmo jumped ahead 3-0 on Daniilidou before the 36th-ranked Greek had to retire.
"Unfortunately, last night I got a viral illness and had absolutely no energy to play at 100 per cent," Daniilidou said.
The victory sent Mauresmo into the final eight along with Anna Chakvetadze, Daniela Hantuchova, Marion Bartoli, Virginie Razzano and Kateryna Bondarenko.
"I noticed that her legs were a bit stiff and her reaction times were slow," Mauresmo said of Daniilidou. Mauresmo will face Chakvetadze, who routed Nathalie Dechy of France 6-1, 6-3.
The top-seeded Russian converted her first match point when Dechy hit a backhand wide.
"I actually didn’t expect it would be so easy," Chakvetadze said. "Nathalie definitely didn’t play her best."
Chakvetadze broke Dechy three times in the first set despite landing only 31 per cent of her first serves. The U.S. Open semifinalist broke Dechy for a 3-0 lead in the second set, but the Frenchwoman levelled at 3-3 after Chakvetadze made several unforced errors.
"I lost my concentration a bit," said Chakvetadze, who had a bye in the first round. "For a first match, I think it’s OK."
Hantuchova outlasted Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 to play Agnes Szavay of Hungary.
The second-seeded Slovakian unleashed a crosscourt backhand winner on her first match point. Hantuchova fought off three break points in the third set before breaking Srebotnik at 4-3 with a volley at the net.
"Every time we play, it’s always a tough match," Hantuchova said. "I’ve always had to play very well to beat her. I guess she always brings the best out of me when I play against her."
Hantuchova dominated the first set with six aces while not facing a break point. But Srebotnik raised her game in the second set, when Hantuchova became vulnerable on her serve.
"I lost a bit my concentration at the beginning of the second set when I had those chances to break her right away," Hantuchova said. "Then she started to play very well. There was not much I could have done on her serve."
Hantuchova improved her career record against Srebotnik with a seventh victory in as many matches
"The fact that I’ve beat her before helped me a lot, especially in the crucial points," she said.
Bartoli of France overpowered Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia 7-5, 6-1, concluding the match with her unconventional two-handed forehand after Cibulkova wasted four break points in the second set.
"At the beginning of the match, I didn’t take enough risks," Bartoli said. "I then focused to be a bit more aggressive."
Bartoli will meet her compatriot Razzano, who edged French teenager Alize Cornet 6-4, 7-5.
Razzano fought off three set points at 5-4 in the second set to hold serve before a double fault from Cornet in the next game gave her a decisive break.
"Cornet played very well in the second set," Razzano said. "She was pressuring me. She was more aggressive than in the first set."
Bondarenko of Ukraine stormed past her compatriot Yuliana Fedak 6-0, 6-3 in 54 minutes to meet fourth-seeded Elena Dementieva of Russia in the quarterfinals.
Fedak served four double faults and landed only 36 per cent of her first serves to lose the first set to Bondarenko. Fedak recovered in the second set, but Bondarenko kept a break advantage to serve for the match.