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Kirilenko reaches quarters in Stanford
Russia's Maria Kirilenko beat sixth-seeded Shahar Peer of Israel 6-4, 6-3 on Thursday in the second round of the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford.
The 16th-ranked Peer became the first seeded player to fall at the event, losing for the fourth time in her last six matches after opening the year 18-5, which included a three-set win over Kirilenko in New Zealand.
"This time I decided to be a lot more aggressive," Kirilenko said. "This year has been so much better and given me a lot of confidence."
The 27th-ranked Kirilenko, who meets No 3 seed Agnieszka Radwanska in Friday's quarterfinals, is assured of her best finish at Stanford in three trips.
"I played not too badly," Kirilenko said. "I can play better."
She's also had her career best results at the Australian Open, when she reached the quarterfinals, the French Open when she made the fourth round, and at Wimbledon, when she was eliminated in the third round.
Eighth seeded Victoria Azarenka of Belarus reached her sixth quarterfinal of the season by defeating American Melanie Oudin, 6-3, 6-1.
Maria Sharapova plays Olga Govortsova and Marion Bartoli meets
wildcard and former top-ranked Ana Ivanovic in later matches.
