Auckland: Champion Yanina Wickmayer joined an enigmatic top seed Maria Sharapova in the quarterfinals of the Auckland Classic on Wednesday, while Svetlana Kuznetsova squandered a three-games lead in the final set and crashed out.
Sharapova mostly spluttered, but at times roared, to a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Renata Voracova of the Czech Republic, while second seed Wickmayer had to battle to beat German qualifier Sabine Lisicki 6-2, 3-6, 6-2.
Third seed Kuznetsova was bundled out 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 by China's Peng Shuai after she blew what should have been a match-winning lead in the final set in the first match on centre court.
Sharapova followed Kuznetsova onto the newly laid blue Plexicushion courts and after going 3-1 down in the first set, she blasted the 27-year-old Voracova away, losing just one point in the final four games of the set.
The second set was just as erratic, with Voracova jumping out to a 5-3 lead before the US-based Russian stormed back to win the next four games and book a quarterfinal against Hungary's Greta Arn.
"On days like this, you just have to be happy to be playing another match," Sharapova told reporters. (It was) a little bit sloppy. It was up and down, and I adjusted when I had to. I didn't serve that great, but I felt I stepped up on the big points (and)... these are the type of matches, when you haven't been playing for a while where you just have to get through."
Kuznetsova, however, will make an earlier than planned flight for next week's tournament in Sydney after she failed to capitalise on her opportunities against Peng.
She romped through the first set but tightened up in the second to let the Chinese player force the second-round match to a decider.
Kuznetsova raced to a 3-0 lead in the final set but again failed to hammer home the advantage and instead Peng ground the 25-year-old Russian down, sealing the victory in 2 hours and 13 minutes.
"The only person I can blame is me because I was leading all the time," Kuznetsova said. "The first set I won easy, the second set I got a break and when you don't take chances, your opponent will.
"I had so many possibilities. Even though I lost the second set I was leading 3-0 in the third and (it was like) ... I was stopping every time when all I needed to do to close it was take that one more step."
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