Sharapova, Schnyder Win Linz Openers

Sharapova, the top seed, and Daniilidou, a qualifier, hung on tightly to their serves throughout the first 10 games, but it was the Russian who cracked open the match with a break, going up 6-5. She blasted three aces in serving out the set and then cruised through the second after her opponent called for a medical time-out for dizziness, losing only three points in the last four games of the match and improving to 4-0 lifetime against the former Top 15 player from Greece.

"She played really good, solid tennis," Sharapova said after the match. "We both held serve for a while, and I had a couple of break points against me, but I saved them. I had a few opportunities in the first set but didn't take them at first. I was able to break her and keep moving forward."

Sharapova is now 13-0 since stepping onto the quick hard courts of the US Open, winning her second career Grand Slam there and capturing her fourth title of the season at Zurich just last week. In the Linz quarterfinals, which all take the court on Friday, she will face fellow teen Ana Ivanovic, whom she has never played.

"I think It'll be a matter of figuring out her game as early as possible," Sharapova added. "So we'll see, but I need to figure her game out."

Ivanovic, seeded No.5 this week, made it to her seventh quarterfinal of the year, and her first since winning her second and biggest ever Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles title at the Tier I Rogers Cup in Montreal, with a straightforward 62 62 victory over another qualifier, Polish youngster Agnieszka Radwanska.

"It was a very tough match even though the score didn't say that," Ivanovic said. "She's a very good player and runs very well so you have to win all of the points yourself. She's not going to give you any free points."

The 18-year-old Ivanovic, who withdrew from her last two events due to right shoulder tendonitis, is also looking forward to Friday's first-time clash with one of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour's biggest names.

"This is very exciting for me," she commented. "Maria is a great competitor and after winning the title last week is obviously in good form. But it's very important that I play aggressive. I had some time off with my injury but I feel good and confident now that I have two wins here."

Schnyder toughs out opener, keeps Madrid hopes alive

For Patty Schnyder, a loss in her first match here would have dashed her hopes of qualifying for the upcoming Sony Ericsson Championships. But despite losing a tight opening set she never gave up, rallying past Nathalie Dechy, a player she had lost to twice before, 67(1) 64 63. She is now 4-2 against the Frenchwoman.

Schnyder is one of three players duking it out for the last two singles berths of the $3-million, season-ending event. Her competition, Swiss compatriot Martina Hingis and Belgium's Kim Clijsters, are both inactive this week, but have strong leads over Schnyder in the Race Standings. Schnyder must at least make this week's final to stay in the running for one of the remaining berths in Madrid.

Schnyder will have another tough test in Friday's quarterfinals as she takes on Russia's Vera Zvonareva. Zvonareva advanced to the quarters after the dramatic last match of the day, which resulted in an injury retirement from Mary Pierce.

Pierce had taken the first set and was up 6-5 in the second, with three match points, when she fell on the court, holding her left knee. She was taken away on a stretcher, and rushed to the hospital; Zvonareva, who ended up with a 46 66 win, was one of the first to react, immediately running over to get her some ice, and appeared much more concerned about her injured opponent than anything else during post-match interviews.

Rounding out the Generali Ladies Linz quarterfinal line-up will be No.6-seeded Jelena Jankovic and Samantha Stosur, who both won competitive second round matches Thursday. Jankovic outlasted Russian qualifier Elena Vesnina, 67(4) 64 62, and Stosur beat No.7 seed Anna Chakvetadze, 64 64. The win over the 13th-ranked Chakvetadze was Stosur's ninth career Top 20 victory, and fifth this year.

No.2 seed Nadia Petrova and No.4 seed Nicole Vaidisova grabbed quarterfinal berths on Wednesday with straight set wins. All four quarterfinals will take the court Friday.
-- WTA