French Open champion Justine Henin-Hardenne had to call on all her reserves on Thursday to beat 13th seed Elena Dementieva 4-6 6-4 6-1 to reach the quarter-finals of the $1 million Acura Classic.

Second seed Kim Clijsters of Belgium thrashed French teenager Marion Bartoli 6-1 6-1 and now faces unseeded American Lisa Raymond, who toppled former French and Australian Open champion Mary Pierce 7-6 6-4.

Third seed Henin-Hardenne lost the first set and had to rally from a 4-2 deficit in the second to halt Dementieva's charge.

The Russian needed seven set points to win the first set, finally clinching it when Henin-Hardenne attempted an ill-timed drop shot.

"I was in trouble," Henin-Hardenne told reporters. "She was hitting very hard and putting me under a lot of pressure."

But Dementieva was a spent force after going 4-2 up in the second set and Henin-Hardenne took advantage by reeling off the next eight games.

"It was a very difficult moment (at 4-2 up)," Dementieva said. "I gave everything I had, I felt I couldn't move any@after that."

HEAT BREAK

After Henin-Hardenne took the second set when she forced the Russian into a forehand error, the players were given a 10-minute heat break. Dementieva then wilted in the third. "I was running all over the court and giving her too much time to organise her game," said Henin-Hardenne.

"It was tough conditions and I was playing too far behind the baseline. I knew I had to change the way I played, I needed to go more inside the court so she was doing the running."

Fourth seed Lindsay Davenport showed no ill effects from her foot injury as she breezed past Russian Lina Krasnoroutskaya 6-0 7-6 to clinch a meeting with fellow American Chanda Rubin in the last eight.

"I was playing very well, very aggressive and when I gave her a few chances she made errors," said Davenport, who was forced out of last week's Bank of the West Classic in nearby Stanford through injury.

Sixth seed Rubin survived a stern test from ninth seed Jelena Dokic of Yugoslavia to win 1-6 6-3 6-4, while Russian Nadia Petrova overwhelmed seventh seed Daniela Hantuchova 6-1 6-3 to set up a quarter-final against Henin-Hardenne.

French Open semi-finalist Petrova was lethal, cracking 25 winners to only 11 from the slim Slovakian to follow up in style her victory over 12th seed Amanda Coetzer in the second round.

"I told myself before I got on court that because it was so hot and humid that I needed to play every point with all my strength and energy," said the unseeded Petrova, who banged seven aces. "I was very focused and kept the pressure on her."

Russian Elena Likhovtseva upset 10th seed Magdalena Maleeva of Bulgaria 6-4 6-3 while Russian teenager Svetlana Kuznetsova put out fellow countrywoman and 16th seed Elena Bovina 7-6 6-2.

Close

Today's Top News		Top Sports News
+China's richest village: It takes brains and guts ( 2003-08-19) +Relief for indigent college students ( 2003-08-19) +Leaders meet Australian PM ( 2003-08-19) +New security official promises open mind ( 2003-08-19) +Government to rationalize auto sector ( 2003-08-19)		+Beckham is Collina's favourite player ( 2003-08-19) +The goal is unbelievable: Sun Jihai ( 2003-08-18) +Agassi, Clijsters top US Open seedings ( 2003-08-19) +Jamison goes from Warrior to Maverick in nine-man deal ( 2003-08-19) +I can handle the criticism, says Beckham ( 2003-08-19)