Wozniacki, Jankovic roll into Charleston quarters

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) -- Top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki beat Patty Schnyder 6-2, 7-5 on Thursday to reach the quarterfinals of the Family Circle Cup.

Wozniacki, ranked No. 2 in the world, overcame a sluggish second set and a crowd that seemed squarely in Schnyder's corner to notch her third victory in four matches against the Swiss player.

The Dane now faces sixth-seeded Nadia Petrova of Russia, who defeated Aleksandra Wozniak of Canada 6-2, 6-4.

The 31-year-old Schnyder, making her 14th straight appearance at the Family Circle Cup, is a crowd favorite. She has never won the tournament but twice finished runner-up.

"I'm sure the crowd helped her today," the 19-year-old Wozniacki said. "She really got pumped up and was believing in herself. It's just important to keep focused on your own game."

Wozniacki is looking for her second straight victory after winning last week at Ponte Verde Beach in Florida.

"I think I played pretty aggressively, especially in the beginning. Second set she -- I let her dictate a little more," Wozniacki said.

Schnyder, ranked No. 49 in the world, didn't break Wozniacki until the third game of the second set.

Tied 5-5 in the second, it appeared Schnyder might climb back into the match. But Wozniacki broke Schnyder in the next game and held serve to win the match, giving up only three points over the last two games.

"I lost all my service games at the end, and my first serve really didn't do any harm," Schnyder said. "It's also because she's really covering the box well and maybe she reads my serve well and she didn't miss one return maybe. So definitely serve was no help for me today."

Vera Zvonareva of Russia beat Alona Bondarenko of Ukraine 6-2, 6-1 and next plays 13th-seeded Melanie Oudin, who defeated qualifier and fellow American Christina McHale 6-4, 6-0.

No. 2 seed Jelena Jankovic of Serbia also advanced with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Evgeniya Rodina of Russia. Jankovic is ranked No. 7 in the world and won the Family Circle Cup three years ago.

"I think I played much better today than the first round," she said. "I think I was hitting the ball much better and moved much better as well, so I hope to continue."

Jankovic will face Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia in the quarterfinals. Hantuchova defeated Angelique Kerber of Germany 6-7 (6), 7-5, 6-3 in a match that took about 2 hours and 45 minutes.

Peng Shuai of China reached the quarters with a 7-5, 2-6, 6-2 victory over No. 10 seed Elena Vesnina of Russia. Next up for Shuai is fourth-seeded Samantha Stosur of Australia, a 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 winner over No. 14 seed Vera Dushevina of Russia.

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