Kuznetsova enters quarters

MOSCOW — Top-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova cruised into the quarterfinals of the Kremlin Cup on Wednesday with a straight-sets win over Alize Cornet to keep her hopes alive of making the WTA Finals. The two-time Grand Slam title winner, ranked ninth in the world, won 6-4, 7-5 in one hour 45 minutes. Russian veteran Kuznetsova needs to win the Moscow title if she is to make the elite eight-woman field at next week’s season finale in Singapore. If she fails, then Britain’s Johanna Konta will take the final spot. “I was battling with myself throughout the match,” Kuznetsova said. “I played my normal tennis from the start but after earning the lead I began to perform feebly for no reason. I was going up and down throughout the entire match.” In the last eight, Kuznetsova will meet ninth seed Timea Babos of Hungary, who saw off another Frenchwoman, Kristina Mladenovic 6-1, 6-4. The hopes of third seeded Carla Suarez Navarro of reaching the WTA finals were ended after a wrist injury forced her to retire from her second-round match with Daria Gavrilova of Australia. Suarez Navarro started with an immediate break but Moscow-born Gavrilova rallied to take the opening set 6-4 in 49 minutes. Gavrilova led 3-0 in the second when Suarez Navarro decided to withdraw. “I think I played pretty well today,” Gavrilova said. “I lost my serve in the very beginning but I felt like I was still in it. I managed to find the momentum, I had a lot of chances and finally it all worked out.” Gavrilova will next face seventh seeded Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, the 2014 title winner, who ousted 2008 Kremlin Cup champion Jelena Jankovic of Serbia 6-1, 6-4. In the ATP event, second seeded Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas made the quarter-finals with a hard-fought 6-4, 6-7 (4/7), 6-4 win over local favourite, Evgeny Donskoy. Gasquet, Cuevas in last 8 Third-seeded Richard Gasquet of France was untroubled on his serve as he beat Inigo Cervantes 6-2, 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals of the European Open at Antwerp Wednesday. Gasquet won 92 percent of his points on first serve, did not face a single break point and broke the Spaniard’s serve three times in a lopsided match. Gasquet next faces either fifth-seeded countryman Gilles Simon or Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff. Joining Gasquet in the last eight were fourth-seeded Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay and Italian Andreas Seppi. Cuevas beat Slovak qualifier Jozef Kovalik 6-4, 7-6 (4), firing 11 aces in their second-round match. Seppi beat Dutchman Robin Haase 7-5, 7-5 and next faces second-seeded Ferrer or Britain player Kyle Edmund. In remaining first-round action, Simon beat Germany qualifier Yannick Maden, 6-3, 6-2. Simon, a losing semifinalist to Andy Murray at the Shanghai Masters last weekend, was ruthless in converting five of six break-point chances. Wildcard entry Steve Darcis of Belgium rallied to beat Benoit Paire 6-7 (6), 6-1, 6-4.