Monday, August 22, 2011

Wozniacki drops her father as coach

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  • Russia's Vera Zvonareva eased into the quarterfinals of the Western and Southern Open
  • Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova crashes out to Andrea Petkovic
  • Maria Sharapova is through after victory over her compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova
  • World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki dumps her father as coach

(CNN) -- Second seed Vera Zvonareva breezed into the Western and Southern Open quarterfinals with a comfortable victory over qualifier Petra Martic.

Russia's Zvonareva, the highest-ranked player left in the draw after top seed Caroline Wozniacki crashed out in the first round, took just one hour to secure a 6-2 6-2 success against her Croatian opponent in Cincinnati.

The 26-year-old set up a last eight clash with Daniela Hantuchova, after the Slovakian got the better of eighth seed Marion Bartoli at the Lindner Family Tennis Center.

Hantuchova, a former world number five, was 3-1 down in the third and deciding set, but bounced back to record a 6-3 5-7 6-3 triumph in two hours and 59 minutes.

Can anybody stop Novak and Serena?

I stayed aggressive throughout the match and kept fighting until the end
--Daniela Hantuchova

"I was really pleased with the match today," Hantuchova, 28, told the WTA's official website. "Marion is a great fighter and was very close, but I stayed aggressive throughout the match and kept fighting until the end."

Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova is out after losing in the third round of a Tour-level tournament to Germany's Andrea Petkovic for the second week in a row.

Petkovic, seeded ninth, raced into a 5-1 lead in the opening set and asserted her dominance to seal a 6-3 6-3 success against the world number six.

Nadia Petrova of Russia set up a quarterfinal clash with Petkovic by defeating American wildcard Christina McHale, world number one Caroline Wozniacki's conqueror, in straight-sets.

Three-time grand slam champion Maria Sharapova, who was beaten in last year's final by Kim Clijsters, advanced at the expense of her fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Fourth seed Sharapova claimed the match 6-2 6-3 and will come up against Australian Samantha Stosur in the next round, after the 10th seed battled to a 6-4 3-6 6-4 victory over French Open winner Li Na.

The remaining quarterfinal will pit Serbia's Jelena Jankovic against Shuai Peng of China, after the duo beat Shahar Peer and Francesca Schiavone respectively.

She cannot win matches right now, because she does not know how she should play
--Piotr Wozniacki

Meanwhile, Wozniacki -- who has yet to clinch a grand slam title despite topping the world rankings -- ended her coaching relationship with her father Piotr.

The 21-year-old suffered early exits at her last two tournaments, to Roberta Vinci in Toronto and to McHale in Cincinnati, and, according to reports in the Danish press, first considered a change after her Wimbledon defeat to Dominika Cibulkova.

"We've heard from morning to night how Caroline should play," Piotr told Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet. "So now she tries something else. It is intended that she should be a very aggressive player.

"But as you can see, she cannot win matches right now, because she does not know how she should play. But whatever, I'm Caroline's father, and I will always support her."

Wozniacki also said how much she is looking forward to defending her Pan Pacific Open title in Japan next month.

The 17-time winner on the WTA Tour wants to show her support for the country in the wake of the earthquake and tsunami which struck Japan in March.

"My heart is always with those who were affected by the earthquake disaster in March this year," she said in a statement. "I was hoping to come to Japan and do something to cheer you up.

"Japan is a special country for me, as many of my special memories are from the country. It truly hurt my heart to see people there facing the earthquake disaster."

The tournament in Tokyo starts on September 25 at the Ariake Tennis Forest Park.

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