Schnyder through to Morocco quarters

FES, Morocco, April 28 (UPI) -- No. 2-seeded Patty Schnyder was pushed to three sets Wednesday before advancing to the quarterfinals of the $220,000 Moroccan Grand Prix tennis tournament.

Schnyder took a close 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 decision from Ioana Raluca Olaru, firing off nine aces en route to the win. Schnyder fought off five break points but held serve in each of her four service games in the third set.

Top-seeded Carlo Suarez Navarro left the tournament, however, when she injured an ankle. She was ahead of Anne Keothavong 6-5 at the time of the injury.

No. 3-seeded Anna Medina Garrigues is also out, but she was beaten, losing 6-3, 6-2 to qualifier Laura Pous Tio. Medina Garrigues, coming off a 6-0, 6-0 first-round win over Lina Bennani, dropped serve seven times in nine games.

Fifth-seeded Angelique Kerber defeated Bojana Jovanovski 6-2, 6-2 and No. 7-seeded Iveta Benesova stopped Claire De Gubernatis 6-2, 6-4 in Wednesday's other matches involving seeded players.

Other second-round winners were Alize Cornet, Renata Voracova and qualifier Simona Halep. All of those matches were straight-set affairs.