Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Clijsters looking good in New York

Updated at 7:15 am on 5 September 2010

Super-mum Kim Clijsters led a formidable cast of old stagers into the last 16 of the US Tennis Open.

The defending champion hammered Wimbledon semi-finalist Petra Kvitova 6-3 6-0 in a near perfect third-round showing and claimed it was no coincidence her bottom half of the draw was stacked with grand slam performers.

Clijsters and fellow major winners Venus Williams, Francesca Schiavone and Ana Ivanovic, plus grand slam finalists Elena Dementieva and Samantha Stosur are in a desperate fight to make the championship match.

Ivanovic, the top seed at Flushing Meadows two years ago but now ranked 40th in the world, booked her date with Clijsters with a 7-5 6-0 win over Frenchwoman Virginie Razzano.

The winner will face either Dementieva or fifth-seeded Stosur in the quarter-finals.

Australia's last hope in New York overpowered Italian Sara Errani 6-2 6-3, while 12th-seeded Dementieva defeated Slovak Daniela Hantuchova 7-5 6-2.

Third seed Venus Williams outclassed qualifier Mandy Minella of Luxembourg 6-2 6-1 in the night match and next faces Israeli Shahar Peer, who ousted Italian Flavia Pennetta 6-4 6-4.

Schiavone, Stosur's French Open final conqueror, plays Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova after beating Ukraine Alona Bondarenko 6-1 7-5.

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