Wozniacki wins again in Dubai

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Feb. 17 (UPI) -- Top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki dropped just one game Thursday in advancing to quarterfinal play of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

Wozniacki won the first five and last seven games in a 6-1, 6-0 rout of qualifier Ayumi Morita. Wozniacki took two-thirds of the points and finished off the match in 53 minutes.

If she wins her next match -- a quarterfinal appearance against ninth-seed Shahar Peer -- Wozniacki will regain the world No. 1 ranking. Peer made the quarterfinals with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory over Yanina Wickmayer.

A day after all 14 of the remaining seeded players won, three top eight seeds were ousted. That included second-seeded Vera Zvonareva, who was beaten 6-3, 6-2 by 15th-seeded Alisa Kleybanova and No. 3 Francesca Schiavone, who fell 1-6, 6-0, 7-5 to 16th-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova. Also, seventh-seeded Victoria Azarenka was defeated by 11th-seeded Flavia Pennetta 6-3, 6-7 (3-7), 6-4.

Fourth-seeded Samantha Stosur beat Patty Schnyder 6-3, 6-4, but No. 6 Jelena Jankovic needed to win the final four games of her match to claim a 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 win over 12th-seeded Kaia Kanepi.

Eight-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska got past No. 10 Marion Bartoli in the other third-round match.

In addition to the Wozniacki-Peer pairing, the tournament quarterfinals have Stosur playing Jankovic, Radwanska going against Kuznetsova and Pennetta meeting Kleybanova.