China's Sun Tiantian failed to keep her top performance Wednesday morning and lost to Australia's Samantha Stosur after leading the first set 6-4 in New Haven.

 

Stosur fired back to win the next two sets 6-1, 6-2, en route to clinch the victory. The win has put Stosur through to the quarter-finals of the US Open tune-up tournament.

 

In other action Lindsay Davenport sealed her first victory since returning from injury when she crushed Katarina Srebotnik 6-3, 6-3 to reach the second round.

 

Former US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova survived a second three-set battle in as many days when she beat Tatiana Golovin 6-0, 2-6, 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals.

 

Russian qualifier Galina Voskoboeva advanced to a clash with world number one Amelie Mauresmo when compatriot Anna Chakvetadze retired through injury in the second set.

 

Mauresmo, Justine Henin-Hardenne, Elena Dementieva and Petrova, the top four seeds who had byes through to round two, begin their campaigns tonight.

 

(CRI August 23, 2006)