TOKYO, Feb. 2 (UPI) -- Defending champion Maria Sharapova and four-time champion Martina Hingis were winners on Thursday at the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo.
Sharapova, the top seed, beat Lisa Raymond 6-4, 6-4, in a second-round match. Also in the second round, Hingis, who is un-seeded, lost the first set against Nathalie Dechy, but bounced back to beat the third seed, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2.
On Friday, the 25-year-old Hingis, who is attempting a comeback after a three-year retirement, will face rising young star Maria Kirilenko in the round of eight. Sharapova's quarterfinal opponent will be Samantha Stosur, who ousted sixth-seeded Daniela Hantuchova, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2.
In other second-round play, fourth-seeded Anastasia Myskina beat Klara Koukalova 6-4, 6-4; seventh-seeded Elena Likhovtseva topped Marion Bartoli of France, 6-2, 7-5; and Kirilenko beat eighth-seeded Ana Ivanovic 6-4, 6-4.
