Seeds Sizzle in Second Round in Memphis
Published Feburary 18, 2009 12:00
MEMPHIS, TN, USA - It was a perfect day for the seeds on Wednesday, as all five in action made it through their second round matches in straight sets.
Most notably, top seed Caroline Wozniacki followed up her Monday night win over qualifier Jelena Dokic with a 61 76(1) win over the unseeded Severine Brémond, plowing through the first set with two breaks of serve before the talented Frenchwoman pushed the second set to a tie-break.
"I felt really good on the court today. I was playing well, I thought, and serving well, so it's good to get through in straight sets," Wozniacki said. "In the tie-break I was just trying to play one point at a time and focus. It was also important to hold my service points: on a fast, indoor hardcourt like this it's important to hold serve."
Other winners were No.3 seed Lucie Safarova, who beat Vania King, 76(1) 63; No.4 seed Anne Keothavong, who dispatched wildcard Michelle Larcher de Brito, 76(2) 64; No.6 seed Sabine Lisicki, who beat Stéphanie Foretz, 62 64; and No.8 seed Pauline Parmentier, who defeated qualifier Chanelle Scheepers, 64 61.
All four quarterfinals will take the court Thursday, with Wozniacki facing qualifier Michaella Krajicek, No.2 seed Victoria Azarenka facing Parmentier, Safarova playing Lisicki and Keothavong playing No.5 seed Marina Erakovic.
"This is my first time in Memphis and I'm really enjoying it," Keothavong said. "It'll be the first time we've played each other on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, so I'm looking forward to it. If I can play well, I've got a good chance of winning."
Three of the four quarterfinals will be first-time Tour meetings, although some have played previously on the ITF Women's Circuit. The only pairing to have squared off already at a Tour event is Azarenka and Parmentier, who met in the final of Tashkent in late 2007 - Parmentier winning that one, 75 62.
