Dementieva eases through in Tokyo

Elena Dementieva has maintained her recent run of fine form by cruising into the quarter-finals of the Pacific Open.

The third-seeded Russian crushed Alize Cornet 6-0 6-3 to move into the last eight.

Dementieva, the world number four, has been on fire of late, advancing to the semi-finals in six of her last eight tournaments.

That run includes a gold medal at the Beijing Olympics and finals appearances in Istanbul and Berlin.

The 26-year-old took advantage of five double-faults by Cornet, winning the first career meeting against the Frenchwoman in 69 minutes despite having play stopped for a short period due to rain.

Cornet’s compatriot, Marion Bartoli, also saw her tournament end on Thursday as she lost 6-2 6-3 to sixth seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland.

Radwanska, who is making her first career appearance at a WTA event in Japan, next will face either Russian Nadia Petrova or second seed Ana Ivanovic of Serbia, who meet later on Thursday.