Mauresmo, Hingis Into Zurich Open Quarterfinals

ZURICH, Switzerland -- The Zurich Open quarterfinal line-up isn't even half-way complete but it already calls for some exciting match-ups, certainly in the top half of the draw. Wednesday winners Amelie Mauresmo and Daniela Hantuchova run into each other, while No.5 seed Martina Hingis will face either No.3 Svetlana Kuznetsova or new Top 15 addition, Jelena Jankovic.

Mauresmo, Hantuchova and Hingis punched their quarterfinal tickets with straight set wins. Mauresmo bested Samantha Stosur, 76(4) 63, to reach her first Zurich Open quarterfinal in four attempts. The Frenchwoman, who lives in Geneva, Switzerland, improved her all-time record against the Australian doubles specialist to 5-0. Wednesday marked the first time Stosur pushed her to a tie-break.

"Sam was serving so well, I had very little chances on her serve in the first set," Mauresmo said. "The court was a little slower than I thought, too, so it took a little while to get adjusted. It was frustrating because my shoulder started hurting a little toward the end. I'm glad I have a day off tomorrow."

Mauresmo has to be well-rested on Friday when she faces Hantuchova. The Slovak beat doubles partner Ai Sugiyama, 76(7) 62, to reach her second quarterfinal of the month. Two weeks ago, she upset Dinara Safina in Stuttgart.

No.5 seed Hingis delighted her home fans with a 63 63 win over Nathalie Dechy. The former world No.1, who won her only title here in 2000, improved her tournament record to 16-5. After an early break gave her a 3-2 lead, she was re-broken right away but Dechy couldn't do any more damage. Hingis reeled off eight straight games to go ahead 5-0 in the second set but wasted two match points at 5-2 before finally finishing in 72 minutes.

On Thursday, players in the lower half will battle for their quarterfinal spots. Katarina Srebotnik faces No.4 seed and new Sony Ericsson Championships qualifier Elena Dementieva, Kuznetsova takes on Jankovic, No.8 Francesca Schiavone battles Swiss qualifier Timea Bacsinszky and Shahar Peer goes against No.2 Maria Sharapova.
-- WTA