Maria Sharapova stormed into the quarter-finals of the WTA Qatar Open with a comprehensive victory over Argentina's Gisela Dulko.

The reigning Wimbledon champion was just too strong for her rival as she coasted to a 6-1, 6-1 win to join Australia's Alicia Molik and Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova in the last eight.

"It was a good match to get through," said Sharapova. "It's never easy to make a comeback after an illness-enforced break, but I took my opportunities," she added Wednesday.

The second seeded Sharapova said she still felt a bit tired from the after effects of the flu that forced her to skip the Paris Indoor Open earlier this month.

"I am still not a hundred percent but I was happy to dictate the match today and get used to the conditions here in a proper match setting," Sharapova, who flew in five days early and was given a first round bye, said.

Meanwhile, Hantuchova ended the sixth-seeded Elena Bovina's Qatar Open dream with a three-set victory. The rising Slovakian, ranked 29th in the world, prevailed over the Russian Bovina 6-0, 3-6, 6-3. Molik, seeded fourth, also advanced to the last eight, downing compatriot Nicole Pratt 6-3, 6-2.

Top seeded Amelie Mauresmo of France was scheduled to play her first match in the Qatar Open later Wednesday against Ana Ivanovic of Serbia Montenegro. 

(Agencies)