Former world number one Jelena Jankovic breezed through to the quarter-finals of the Hong Kong Open Wednesday in a straight sets victory that took just under an hour.
Ranked fourth in the competition, she beat Australia’s Anastasia Rodionova 6-0, 6-2 and will meet sixth seed Daria Gavrilova of Russia in the last eight.
“It was a good match for me,” Jankovic told reporters.
“I’m feeling better today than I did yesterday. I think the first match is always very tough, to feel the conditions, the court. Today I felt a little bit lighter on my feet.”
Jankovic, 30, has never played 21-year-old Gavrilova.
“She’s a young and up and coming player and she’s had a great season. It will be our first encounter and I look forward to playing it,” she said.
Australian Samantha Stosur beat Puerto Rico’s Monica Puig 6-4 6-4 to secure her quarter-final place.
Stosur will play Britain’s Heather Watson who beat Taiwan’s Lee Ya-hsuan in three sets Wednesday.
Seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams will play her second-round match Thursday, when she takes on Wang Ya-fan of China.
Williams, 35, is fighting for a place in the eight-player WTA Finals in Singapore later this month with Hong Kong her last chance to get the points she needs.
She is currently 11th in the Road to Singapore rankings.
World number nine Angelique Kerber takes on Kurumi Nara in her second-round match, also Thursday.