Top seeds move on in Italian Open

ROME, May 13 (UPI) -- Russia's Maria Sharapova and former top-ranked star Amelie Mauresmo were easy quarterfinal winners Friday at the $1.3 million Italian Masters in Rome.

The top-seeded Sharapova, currently No. 2 in the world, dispatched ninth-seeded fellow Russian Elena Bovina 6-2, 6-2, while the second-seeded Mauresmo, currently third in the women's rankings, dismantled four-time Rome titlist Conchita Martinez 6-1, 6-2 on the red clay at Foro Italico.

Martinez, the 1994 Wimbledon champ, won the Rome tournament from 1993-1996 and was the runner-up in her fifth straight trip to the finals in 1997.

Reigning Wimbledon champ Sharapova could supplant American Lindsay Davenport atop the WTA Tour rankings with a title this weekend.

Sharapova's semifinal opponent Saturday will be eighth-seeded Swiss lefthander Patty Schnyder, who destroyed Russian Evgenia Linetskaya 6-1, 6-0 in a brief 54-minute affair on Day 5.

Mauresmo will take on sixth-seeded Russian Vera Zvonareva, who knocked out heavy Italian crowd favorite Francesca Schiavone 7-5, 7-6 (7-4). Schiavone ousted Australian Open champion and former No. 1 Serena Williams in straight sets Wednesday.