MOSCOW (AP) Two-time Grand Slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova beat Sofia Arvidsson of Sweden 6-2, 7-5 to make the Kremlin Cup quarterfinals for the sixth time on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, men's defending champion Andreas Seppi broke Paolo Lorenzi twice in the second set to win the all-Italian second-round match 6-3, 6-2, and 2011 champ Janko Tipsarevic lost to Russian wild card Karen Khachanov 6-4, 6-4.
Kuznetsova, ranked 23rd, overcame an early break in the second set and earned the victory on her third match point against Arvidsson, a semifinalist last year.
"I was more relaxed on the court today, yet I was hurrying a bit and wanted to play more aggressive, thus making more mistakes," Kuznetsova said. "But I can say that now, at the end of the season, I am playing much better."
She missed Wimbledon, among several tournaments in midseason, because of an abdominal injury. She will try to reach the semifinals for only the second time in Moscow when she faces second-seeded Roberta Vinci of Italy, who beat Elena Vesnina 2-6, 6-1, 6-4 after a first-round bye.