Clijsters, Ivanovic Into Quarters at WTA Hasselt

HASSELT, Belgium -- Three of the top four seeds entered the quarterfinals of the Gaz de France Stars on Thursday. No.1 Kim Clijsters, No.2 Ana Ivanovic and No.3 Francesca Schiavone mastered their second round challengers and will face unseeded opponents for a spot in the semis of this $175,000, Tier III event.

Defending champion Clijsters posted a routine 63 62 victory over world No.35 Martina Muller. The Belgian was never truly threatened even though this was just her second match after a two-month left wrist injury layoff.

"There were a few games where the ball was going exactly where I wanted it to go," Clijsters said. "But there are definitely games where I'm still not patient enough and am not making the right decisions. The more I play, the more that will come back."

Sandra Kloesel could pose a bigger challenge to the former world No.1 on Friday. The unseeded German upset No.7 seed Samantha Stosur, 76(2) 26 63, and will have nothing to lose on Friday in the second Sony Ericsson WTA Tour quarterfinal of her career.

Returning finalist Schiavone was pushed a bit harder in her 63 64 win over Polish lucky loser Agnieszka Radwanska. The Italian knew she had a tough task ahead of her because Radwanska pushed her to three sets last month at Luxembourg. Schiavone next faces qualifier Kaia Kanepi. The two met here exactly a year ago and Schiavone won, 63 64.

Ivanovic had the toughest task of all seeds on Thursday, as she labored for a 63 67(3) 63 victory over German qualifier Angelique Kerber. The Serbian teen, who won the US Open Series this summer, is now up against another teen, Michaella Krajicek. The Dutchwoman won two tournaments this year at Hobart and s'Hertogenbosch but struggled for most of the second half of the season.

Kanepi advanced with a 63 64 victory over Eleni Daniilidou and Krajicek defeated Caroline Maes, 76(3) 26 63.
-- WTA