24 Jan 2011

Zvonereva into Open quarter-final

6:44 pm on 24 January 2011

The second seed Vera Zvonareva has cruised into the Australian Open quarter-finals with a 6-4 6-1 win overthe unseeded Iveta Benesova.

Zvonareva, a beaten finalist at both the US Open and Wimbledon last year, will play another Czech, Petra Kvitova in the quarters.

Benesova rarely troubled Zvonareva, who's bidding for her first grand slam title.

Earlier Kvitova came from a set down to beat Italy's Flavia Pennetta 3-6 6-3 6-3 to reach her second grand slam quarter-final.

Last year she reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon where she lost to top seed and eventual winner Serena Williams.