AUCKLAND: Peng Shuai of China rallied to stun two-time Grand Slam-winner Svetlana Kuznetsova 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the second round of the ASB Classic Tennis Tournament Wednesday. Meanwhile, former top-ranked Maria Sharapova struggled on serve in windy conditions before beating Renata Voracova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 7-5. No. 2 seed and defending champion Yanina Wickmayer was stretched to three sets by Sabine Lasicki of Germany, winning 6-2, 3-6, 6-2, while No. 4 seed Julia Goerges of Germany beat Alize Cornet of France 6-2, 6-4. No. 7 seed Elena Vesnina of Russia retired in the third set of her match against Simona Halep of Romania. Halep was leading 2-6, 6-4, 4-0 when Vesnina retired complaining of dizziness. British qualifier Heather Watson beat No. 9 seed Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain 7-6 (5), 6-1 and Greta Arn of Hungary ousted No. 8 seed Sofia Arvidsson of Sweden 4-6, 7-5, 7-5. Mattek-Sands stuns Schiavone American Bethanie Mattek-Sands stunned world No.7 Francesca Schiavone 6-4, 6-4 in the United States' 2-1 win over Italy at the Hopman Cup Wednesday. John Isner gave the US a 2-0 lead after coming through a close encounter against Potito Starace 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-4. But Italy denied the US a second clean sweep at the Hopman Cup, as Schiavone and Starace pulled off a surprising 6-7 (5), 6-2, 10-3 victory in the mixed doubles. The result means that all four nations in Group B – Italy, the United States, Britain and France – still have a chance of qualifying for Saturday's final. Roddick advances Defending champion Andy Roddick advanced to the quarterfinals of the Brisbane International on Wednesday, hitting 15 aces to beat Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine 6-4, 6-1. Roddick controlled the match with his powerful serve, landing 71 percent of his first serves and winning 87 percent of those points. Roddick will next face fifth-seeded Marcos Baghdatis in the quarterfinals. The Cypriot beat Lukasz Kubot of Poland 6-2, 6-2. Also, 2010 runner-up Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic beat fourth-seeded American Mardy Fish 6-2, 6-1. In the women's tournament, Jelena Dokic of Australia dropped 10 straight games in a 6-0, 6-1 loss to Andrea Petkovic of Germany, a setback ahead of the Australian Open. Marion Bartoli of France beat Iveta Benesova of the Czech Republic 6-1, 3-6, 6-0. Europe in final Top seeds Europe powered into the final of Hong Kong's World Team Challenge Wednesday, world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki and her teammate Aravane Rezai notching singles wins. Danish sensation Wozniacki, 20, dispatched China's top woman Li Na 6-4, 6-3 to help the Europeans to a 4-0 clean sweep in the semifinal clash with Asia-Pacific in the season-opening exhibition. World No. 19 Rezai had dismissed Hong Kong's top-ranked player Zhang Ling 6-3, 6-0. In the last rubber Wozniacki and Edberg eased comfortably past Li and Philippoussis 6-3, 6-2 to complete the clean sweep. Europe advance to the gold group final with the mixed doubles still to come while Asia Pacific will play in the silver group final.
