PALERMO, Italy, July 20 (UPI) -- Two-time defending champion Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain Thursday won her second-round match at the Italian Open in Palermo, Italy.
She beat Anastasiya Yakimova of Belarus, 6-1, 2-6, 6-0.
Medina Garrigues, who is No. 23 in the latest world rankings, is gunning for her fourth title in the last six years in the red clay event.
On Thursday, she lost a set for the first time in this year's tournament.
Other winners were No. 4 Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic; qualifier Karin Knapp of Italy; Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez of Spain; and unseeded Julia Schruff of Germany, who beat Romina Oprandi of Italy in a walkover.
Oprandi pulled out of their scheduled match because of a left wrist injury.
In Friday's quarterfinals, Medina Garrigues faces Knapp; Safarova plays Martinez Sanchez; Schruff meets Tathiana Garbin of Italy; and France's Aravane Rezai plays Roberta Vinci of Italy.
