Sport

Ailing Sharapova in last eight

CARSON (USA): Maria Sharapova kept her bid for the world No. 1 ranking alive on Thursday, rallying for a three-set victory despite a painful pectoral muscle. Sharapova, the top seed in the $585,000 tournament, defeated fellow Russian Anna Chakvetadze 4-6, 6-4, 7-5, but said she was hampered on her serve and forehand.

"I'm not playing 100 per cent physically," she said. "I'm serving 92 miles per hour, and I'm not hitting my forehand. With that, it's tough to play a girl, who has nothing to lose, is swinging out there and seems to be playing unbelievable.

"The good thing is that I know that at the end of the day without playing great, with having a few problems and a serve, you tough it out and you win," said Sharapova.

Painful

Sharapova said she had battled the inflammation of her right pectoral muscle since she hurt it playing at Zurich last year. She had an MRI on Wednesday. "There's nothing torn, thank God, but it keeps coming back," she said. "It's the whole muscle and hurts on the moment of impact. The more you play and the bigger you hit, the more painful it is."

In the quarterfinals Sharapova is scheduled to play Slovakian Daniela Hantuchova, who defeated Ukrainian Kateryna Bondarenko 6-4, 6-4.

Chakvetadze played an efficient ground game and in the third set opened a 3-2 lead with a service break. But she was feeling some pain as well, and called for the trainer on the changeover and was given a three-minute medical timeout to wrap a strained left groin and immediately dropped her own serve.

Sharapova, leading 6-5, put the match away with a forehand volley. Sharapova can leapfrog injured American Lindsay Davenport for the top ranking in women's tennis this week.

But she said her main focus now is to get healthy, especially with the US Open beginning on August 29.

"It's not important for me to play," she said. "I always feel terrible pulling out. It's not me. But if it comes to a point where I can't serve without pain and it could hurt me for the Open, there's no reason thinking about number one or anything else.

"As much as I want to play, it's more important to take care of your body and be ready for the US Open. I'm just going to wait and take care of it tonight," she added.

Bhupathi-Damm advance

At Montreal, Mahesh Bhupathi and Czech partner Martin Damm advanced to the doubles quarterfinals at the $2.2 million ATP Tour men's event.

Bhupathi and Damm, seeded seventh, overcame an edgy encounter against Cyril Suk and Pavel Vizner 6-3, 7-6(4) on Thursday. Bhupathi and Damm next face Zimbabwean duo Kevin Ullyett and Wayne Black, who were in rousing form against Franco-Spaniard combo Richard Gasquet and David Ferrer, winning 6-2, 6-3.

In singles action, French Open champion Rafael Nadal and American Andre Agassi remained on course for a possible final showdown as they booked quarterfinal berths.

Nadal, the top seed who is seeking his third straight title, emerged with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over France's Sebastien Grosjean, although 19-year-old Spaniard had to fight off five break points to hold his serve throughout the match.

Agassi cruises

Agassi, the fourth seed and a three-time champion here, cruised past German Nicolas Kiefer 6-4, 6-2.

Nadal, who improved his singles mark to 61-7 this season, is seeking his ninth title of the year but first on a surface other than clay. In March, he lost in the final of the hard-court ATP Masters Series event in Miami to top-ranked Roger Federer, the winner here last year but not entered this season.

After bowing out in the second round at Wimbledon, Nadal won back-to-back events at Bastad and Stuttgart before taking a two-week break prior to this event. He struggled against friend and Davis Cup teammate Carlos Moya in the first round, and then routed fellow lefthander Ricardo Mello of Brazil on Wednesday.

Nadal next will face eighth-seeded Mariano Puerta of Argentina, who eliminated Xavier Malisse of Belgium 6-2, 6-4.

Agassi needed just 86 minutes to dispatch Kiefer, saving the only break point he faced. He broke the German at 4-4 in the first set and never looked back. Agassi, 35, is coming off his 60th career victory in Los Angeles two weeks ago. It was his first event since returning from a painful back injury.

The results: At Carson (WTA JPMorgan Chase Open): third round: Nadia Petrova bt Klara Koukalova 6-2, 6-4; Kim Clijsters bt Dinara Safina 6-0, 7-5; Francesca Schiavone bt Varvara Lepchenko 6-3, 2-6, 6-3; Tathiana Garbin bt Lisa Raymond 6-4, 6-3; Maria Sharapova bt Anna Chakvetadze 4-6, 6-4, 7-5; Conchita Martinez bt Eleni Daniilidou 6-1, retd., Elena Dementieva bt Marion Bartoli 6-3, 7-6(4); Daniela Hantuchova bt Kateryna Bondarenko 6-4, 6-4.

At Montreal (ATP Rogers Cup): third round: Paul-Henri Mathieu bt Olivier Rochus 6-1, 6-2; Greg Rusedski bt Mario Ancic 6-2, 3-6, 6-2; Gaston Gaudio bt Tommy Robredo 6-3, 7-6(0); Rafael Nadal bt Sebastien Grosjean 6-4, 6-4; Karol Beck bt Nikolay Davydenko 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(4); Dominik Hrbaty bt Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-4, 6-2; Mariano Puerta bt Xavier Malisse 6-2, 6-4; Andre Agassi bt Nicolas Kiefer 6-4, 6-2.

Doubles: second round: Mahesh Bhupathi-Martin Damm bt Cyril Suk-Pavel Vizner 6-3, 7-6(4).

At Stockholm (Nordic Light Open): second round: Anastasia Myskina bt Camille Pin 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-1; Vera Douchevina bt Julia Schruff 6-2, 4-6, 6-3; Martina Sucha bt Severine Beltrame 6-3, 6-3; Sofia Arvidsson bt Alyona Bondarenko 6-2, 6-3. — AFP, AP

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