Moscow, Russia (TSN) – Top seed Venus Williams and second-seeded Monica Seles both advanced to the quarterfinals with straight-set victories on Thursday at the $1 million Kremlin Cup.
Williams, who is seeking her fourth title of the year, dispatched Russian Elena Likhovtseva, 6-3, 6-1, in a second-round match. Meanwhile, Seles downed Barbara Schett of Germany, 6-3. 6-4.
The big upset of the day saw Swiss teen sensation Patty Schnyder, a five-time titlist this year, eliminated in two sets. Spain’s Magui Serna defeated the fourth-seeded Schnyder, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4. Third seed Conchita Martinez pasted Nadejda Petrova, 6-0, 6-0, in a second-round encounter, while fifth-seeded Mary Pierce made short work of Belgian Sabine Appelmans, 6-2. 6-2.
Other winners included Sandrine Testud, the seventh seed, who upended Natasha Zvereva, 6-4, 6-3, and Silvia Farina, who defeated Henrieta Nagoya, 6-3, 6-1. Also, American Chanda Rubin was beaten by Katarina Studenikova of Slovakia, 6-3, 7-5.