Zvonareva advances at Pattaya Open

PATTAYA CITY, Thailand, Feb. 8 (UPI) -- No. 1-seeded Vera Zvonareva had five service breaks in a straight-set, second-round win Wednesday at the PTT Pattaya Open tennis tournament in Thailand.

Zvonareva defeated Akgul Amanmuradova 6-3, 6-3. She lost her serve twice but countered that by winning 53 percent of the points when receiving serve. She converted five of her 11 break-point chances.

Zvonareva is looking for her third Pattaya Open title in four years.

Local favorite Tamarine Tanasugarn claimed a quarterfinal spot with a 7-6 (9-7), 6-3 win over Chang Kai-Chen. Tanasugarn, who has finished second in the event twice including losing the finals to Zvonareva in 2010, cashed in all six of her break chances, which just offset the five service drops she had.

Fourth-seeded Maria Kirilenko rallied for a 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3) win over Anastasia Rodionova and No. 7-seeded Sorana Cirstea topped Misaki Doi 6-2, 6-2 in Wednesday's other matches.

Zvonareva draws Cirstea in Friday's quarterfinals while Kirilenko will be battling Tanasugarn, who is sure to have strong fan support, in another quarterfinal. Friday's other pairings are to be determined in second-round matches Thursday.