TOKYO, Jan. 31 (UPI) -- Second-seeded Martina Hingis, looking for her fifth title in the event, has moved into the quarterfinals of the Pan Pacific Open tennis tournament in Tokyo.
In the only second-round match Wednesday, Hingis whipped past Nicole Pratt 6-1, 7-5 to advance in the tournament she has won four times previously. She most recently won the Pan Pacific Open in 2002.
Seventh-seeded Shahar Peer was upset Wednesday by Maria Kirilenko, who posted a 6-2, 6-3 victory. In another first-round match, Ai Sugiyama defeated Elena Vesnina, 6-4, 6-2.
In other matches, Elena Likhovtseva eliminated Gisela Dulko 6-3, 6-2; Samantha Stosur beat Vera Zvonareva 6-4, 6-7 (4-7), 6-4; Jie Zheng topped Bethanie Mattek 6-2, 6-1; and Mara Santangelo downed Aiko Nakamura 7-5, 6-0.
Hingis is the only one of the top four seeds, who received first-round byes to have played in the tournament. No. 1 Maria Sharapova, defending champion Elena Dementieva and Jelena Jankovic are scheduled to play Thursday.
