- Maria Sharapova battles into the quarterfinals at the Stanford Classic
- Russian second seed beats Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova 6-2 2-6 6-4
- Sharapova could face fellow former world No. 1 Serena Williams in the last eight
- Marion Bartoli, Agnieszka Radwanska and Dominika Cibulkova all record wins
(CNN) -- Maria Sharapova battled into the quarterfinals of the Stanford Classic in California on Wednesday to set up a potential showdown with fellow former world No. 1 Serena Williams.
The Russian second seed beat Slovakian Daniela Hantuchova 6-2 2-6 6-4 despite losing seven games in a row in the middle stages of the match.
Sharapova maintained the form that propelled her into the final at Wimbledon, where she lost to Czech Petra Kvitova, as she continued her bid for a first title at the U.S. hardcourt tournament.
The 24-year-old will meet 13-time major champion Williams if the American can negotiate her way past Russia's Maria Kirilenko Thursday.
France's Marion Bartoli, a winner here in 2009, secured her place in the last eight with a 6-4 6-3 victory over Canadian Rebecca Marino.
The Wimbledon quarterfinalist will next play either Polish qualifier Urszula Radwanska or Japan's Ayumi Morita.
The third seed told the WTA Tour web site: "I love this tournament. It's a great place for me to start playing again. I felt great today.
"I lost to Rebecca last year in Quebec, so it was good for me to take revenge today. I can still improve some parts of my game here and there, but overall I'm happy with the way I played."
Radwanska's older sister Agnieszka took three sets to edge past Chang Kai-Chen 6-4 3-6 6-0, and the fifth seed will next play either Australian No. 4 Sam Stosur or Germany's Wimbledon semifinalist Sabine Lisicki.
Dominika Cibulkova beat the top-100's youngest player, Christina McHale from the United States, 6-4 2-6 6-3.
"I wasn't playing my best today and it's not easy to win matches like that," the 22-year-old Slovakian said.
"From 2-3 in the third set I played more aggressively and was able to win. I was lucky to win, but to win when you're not playing well gives you even more confidence and can help when you go and play your next matches."
Cibulkova also paid tribute to her 19-year-old opponent McHale, saying: "Her first serve was working well and she surprised me by hitting some slower balls too -- she's a solid player.
"I was also a young player coming up and I know what it takes. You have to play many matches and believe you can beat anyone. You just have to go for it."
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