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Birmingham, England (SportsNetwork.com) – Top-seeded former world No. 1 Ana Ivanovic and third-seeded American Sloane Stephens were a pair of third-round winners, while former U.S. Open champion Samantha Stosur bowed out Thursday at the Aegon Classic, a grass-court Wimbledon tune-up.
The Serbian star Ivanovic drubbed American Lauren Davis 6-1, 6-1, while Stephens held off 15th-seeded fellow American Alison Riske 7-6 (7-4), 2-6, 6-1 at Edgbaston Priory Club.
The second-seeded Stosur, meanwhile, succumbed to 16th-seeded fellow Aussie Casey Dellacqua, 2-6, 6-2, 6-2.
In other seeded action, No. 4 Belgian Kirsten Flipkens overcame Canadian qualifier Aleksandra Wozniak 1-6, 7-5, 6-4; No. 6 Czech Klara Koukalova came back to best American Coco Vandeweghe 3-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4,; 43-year-old Japanese Kimiko Date-Krumm took out No. 7 defending Birmingham champion Daniela Hantuchova 6-4, 6-0; and No. 9 Chinese Zhang Shuai topped Czech Petra Cetkovska 6-0, 7-6 (8-6). Hantuchova titled here last year by beating Croat Donna Vekic in the final and was the runner-up in 2011.
Also on Thursday, Czech Barbora Zahlavova Strycova outlasted Hungarian lucky loser Timea Babos, 6-2, 0-6, 6-3.
Friday’s quarterfinals will pit Ivanovic against Koukalova, Stephens versus Zhang, Flipkens against Zahlavova Strycova, and Dellacqua versus Date-Krumm.