Unseeded Kim Clijsters reached the quarterfinals of the Cincinnati Open with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 win over French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova Thursday while Venus Williams suffered a surprise defeat. In-form Italian Flavia Pennetta ended the title hopes of Venus when she ousted the third seed 7-6, 6-4. Former world number one Clijsters, in her first tournament after a two-year break during which she had her first child, won an enthralling two-hour encounter. “It's better than I expected,” the Belgian said in a courtside interview. “I am very happy I have been able to stay focused.” Retrieving everything, Clijsters broke in the second game of the match and though Kuznetsova leveled at 4-4, she snatched the set when the sixth-seeded Russian netted a backhand. The 26-year-old looked set to win in straight sets when she led 3-0 in the second but suddenly Kuznetsova hit form and leveled at 3-3. Clijsters thought she had a 5-3 lead only for her opponent to correctly challenge a call. The Russian then broke in the following game before serving out for the set. Trading heavy groundstrokes, Kuznetsova saved a break point in the fourth game of the decider before Clijsters stepped up another level and broke twice to seal victory. Venus made 38 unforced errors as 14th seed Pennetta outplayed the American to clinch her fourth victory in their seven meetings. Pennetta, who has now won 14 consecutive matches, constantly made Venus play one more shot than she wanted and unleashed a series of stunning passing strokes herself. Pennetta next plays unseeded Daniela Hantuchova after the Slovakian beat seventh seed Vera Zvonareva of Russia 7-6, 0-6, 7-6 in a ding-dong battle lasting two hours 50 minutes. Nadal in last 8 In Montreal, Rafael Nadal gave his fragile confidence a huge boost Thursday with a 6-3, 6-2 defeat of German Philipp Petzschner for a place in the quarterfinals of the ATP Montreal Masters. The four-time Roland Garros champion, who is playing this week for the first time since May 31 after resting his injured knees, won his second match in less than 24 hours as he humbled Petzschner in an impressive 69-minute showing. The Spanish second seed missed on his first match point with a nervous double-fault but fired home a winner on his second try to advance. Andy Murray's hardcourt campaign also moved into top gear when the third seed sped into the quarterfinals with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero on Thursday. Fourth-seeded Serb Novak Djokovic, fifth-seeded American Andy Roddick and sixth-seeded Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro also advanced. World No. 1 Roger Federer was playing later Thursday. In his first event since falling to Roddick in last month's Wimbledon semifinals, Murray was in impressive form as he knocked the last bit of rust off his game to dismiss Ferrero in just 77 minutes. Ferrero was looking for revenge after being knocked out in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. However, the former world No. 1 was again overwhelmed by Murray. While the young Scot barely broke sweat under a blazing Canadian sun, Roddick was left drained as he needed two hours 36 minutes to defeat feisty Spaniard Fernando Verdasco 7-6, 4-6, 7-6. The win set up an intriguining quarterfinal showdown between 2003 champion Roddick and 2007 winner Djokovic, who scored a 6-3, 6-4 triumph over Russian Mikhail Youzhny. Del Potro, who captured the title in Washington last week, also required a big effort to reach the last eight, rallying for a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Romania's Victor Hanescu.
