Pennetta reaches Palermo quarterfinals

PALERMO, Italy, July 15 (UPI) -- Top-seeded Flavia Pennetta made it into the third round of the Palermo International Wednesday with a straight-sets victory over Roberta Vinci.

Pennetta, ranked 15th in the world, overcame a sluggish start on the red clay surface to defeat Vinci 7-5, 6-1.

That set up a quarterfinal meeting with Aravane Rezai, who survived a duel with Varvara Lepchenko 6-7 (2-7), 6-4, 6-2.

In other second-round action, Tathiana Garbin surprised Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez 6-2, 6-2. Sanchez was coming off a title last week is Bastad.

Garbin's quarterfinal opponent will be Olga Govortsova, who upset sixth-seeded Ekaterina Makarova 6-2, 6-2.

In the last of the first-round matches, Patty Schnyder was a 6-4, 6-0 winner over Anastasia Pivovarova. Schnyder will play in the second round Thursday against Nuria Llagostera Vives.