MIAMI: Former world No 1 Lindsay Davenport defeated Serbian second seed Ana Ivanovic 6-4, 6-2 to reach the fourth round of the WTA and ATP Masters Series hardcourt tournament on Sunday.

World No 1 Justine Henin of Belgium, third seed Svetlana Kuznetsova and defending champion Serena Williams also advanced to the round of 16 at the $7.54 million event with straight-set triumphs.

On the men's side, world No 2 Rafael Nadal moved a step closer to his first title of the season, defeating Germany's Nicolas Kiefer 6-2, 6-4 to reach the fourth round.

While not as efficient as his second-round victory over German qualifier Benjamin Becker, in which he committed just four unforced errors, Nadal shrugged off a rain delay to complete his second straight match without facing a break point.

"Well, it was not the best day because I was playing unbelievable in the beginning, playing very well, hitting very well the ball, and playing almost perfect match," he said.

"When I come back to the court the ball was a little bigger and slower, and it was a little bit more difficult for me," he said.

Next up for Nadal is France's Paul-Henri Mathieu, who ousted Carlos Moya of Spain 7-6 (1), 7-5.

Nadal is playing in his 12th tournament since his last title at Stuttgart in July.

Ninth-seeded American James Blake stayed on course for a possible quarterfinal clash with Nadal with a 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-4 victory over Frenchman Fabrice Santoro.

Davenport, 31, denied Ivanovic, 20, a chance at back-to-back triumphs after her victory a week ago in the Indian Wells final.

Instead, Ivanovic followed Indian Wells men's finalists Novak Djokovic and Mardy Fish out of the tournament.

"I was playing really well. I felt really confident out there," Davenport said. "Obviously, she's had a great year so far. But it's very tough to play Indian Wells and Miami back-to-back, doing well in Indian Wells," Davenport added. "You can see on the men's side with Fish and Djokovic. I was trying to take advantage of that.

"You never know what your opponent will bring, but I could tell she was maybe a little fatigued, and I tried to take advantage of that."

Henin advanced to the fourth round with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Italy's Sara Errani.

Henin, who has won two titles in four tournaments this year, will next face Russian Elena Vesnina, who outlasted American Ashley Harkleroad 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 after three hours and seven minutes.

This is Henin's return after nearly one month off since losing a Dubai quarterfinal to Italy's Francesca Schianove. Henin has already taken titles this year in Sydney and Belgium and is 14-2 on the season.

Also advancing to the round of 16 was Kuznetsova, who rallied to defeat Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 1-6, 7-5, 6-0. Kuznetsova, the 2006 winner here and runner-up at Indian Wells, saved a match point down 5-3 in the second set.

Defending champion Serena Williams, the eighth seed, shrugged off a slow start to defeat Italian Flavia Pennetta 6-7 (6), 6-3, 6-2 in a rain-disrupted match.

Williams needed 2 hours, 12 minutes to polish off Pennetta, largely because of a stream of unforced errors.

Serena's elder sister Venus, the sixth seed, also reached the fourth round, beating New Zealand's Marina Erakovic 6-2, 6-1.

Former world No 1 Amelie Mauresmo's struggles continued as the Frenchwoman fell 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 to China's Zheng Jie.

AFP

(China Daily 04/01/2008 page24)