World No. 1
Maria Sharapova stumbled but recovered Thursday at the WTA stop in Beijing, staying on her feet to record a 6-0, 5-7, 6-2 win over Israel's
Shahar Peer to move into the quarterfinals.
"I got off to a great start and then maybe I wasn't aggressive enough and let her into the match in the second set," said Sharapova, playing her first match since the US Open. "I don't know exactly what happened, I just lost my concentration a bit, but was able to get back on track in the final set."
No.3 seed
Venus Williams also moved into the quarterfinals with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Spain's
Nuria Llagostera Vives. After younger sister Serena exited Wednesday suffering with a left knee injury, Venus said she also experienced left knee pain during her match.
Other players into the quarters were Russian
Maria Kirilenko (d. (Q) Nakamura), Japan's
Shinobu Asagoe (d. Craybas), and Poland's
Marta Domachowska (d. (WC) Zheng).
Lining up for the Friday quarterfinals are Peng vs. Groenefeld, Domachowska vs. Venus, T.Sun vs. Kirilenko, and Sharapova vs. Asagoe.
