Vera Zvonareva of Russia returns a forehand to her compatriot Vera Dushevina in Carlsbad, California, Thursday. — Reuters CARLSBAD, California — Top-seeded Vera Zvonareva of Russia beat countrywoman Vera Dushevina 6-3, 6-0 Thursday as the top five seeds advanced at the Mercury Insurance Open. The third-ranked Zvonareva, who received a first-round bye, rebounded from a tough opening-round match to move into the quarterfinals. She will next face Sabine Lisicki of Germany, who was a 6-4, 6-3 winner over American teenager Coco Vandeweghe. Second-seeded Andrea Petkovic of Germany reeled off 10 consecutive games to lead 6-2, 3-0 when her French opponent Virginie Razzano retired with a right shoulder injury. Petkovic will be an odds-on favorite in her quarterfinal, against 18-year-old American Sloane Stephens, who advanced when Austria's Tamira Paszek quit with an abdominal strain when facing set point at 5-3 down in the first set. No. 3 Agnieszka Radwanska breezed past American Christina McHale 6-1, 6-0 and the Pole should face a more challenging task against quarterfinal opponent Daniela Hantuchova; the eighth-seeded Slovak struggled past China's Zheng Jie 6-2, 4-6, 6-4. There was a better result for another Chinese, as fourth-seeded Peng Shuai won a thriller against Italian No. 15 seed Sara Errani 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7). Peng will face former world No. 1 Ana Ivanovic in the quarterfinals. The fifth-seeded Serb was a comfortable 6-1, 6-2 winner over Alberta Brianti of Italy. Montanes-Haase final Albert Montanes of Spain beat top-seeded Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina 6-2, 7-5 Friday to reach his 10th career ATP final at the Bet-at-Home Cup at Kitzbuehel, Austria. In Saturday's final, the 50th-ranked Montanes will play Robin Haase of the Netherlands, who defeated Joao Souza of Brazil 6-1, 6-7 (3), 6-4. Montanes will appear in his first final since July last year, when he won his fifth career title in Stuttgart, Germany. He has never played Haase, who reached his first final. The 53rd-ranked Haase, playing in his second semifinal after the Dutch Open in 2007, won 16 of the first 20 points against Souza and dropped just one point on serve in the opening set.
