Story highlights
Home favourite Marion Bartoli through to the quarterfinals of the Paris Open
Bartoli recovers from a sluggish start to defeat Croatian Petra Martic 7-5 6-1
No. 2 seed will now face Italy's Roberta Vinci after she beat Bethanie Mattek-Sands
Home favourite Marion Bartoli recovered from a sluggish opening set to take her place in the last eight of the Paris Open after beating Croatian Petra Martic.
The number two seed triumphed 7-5 6-1 on home soil to set up a quarterfinal clash with Roberta Vinci after the Italian beat Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-3 1-6 6-3.
Bartoli struggled in the opening set, committing six double faults on her own serve, but after three breaks in the first eight games, she forced a decisive one at 6-5 and won her own service game.
The Frenchwoman hit her stride in the second set, surrendering only one game as she booked a last eight berth.
“It was my first match since the Australian Open, where I really hadn’t played well against Zheng Jie in the third round,” said Bartoli.
“I’d left off on a bad match, so it wasn’t easy to get back on the horse. But once I’d won the first set, I started to hit the ball a lot better, which enabled me to raise my game.
“It’s essentially a question of confidence, but it’s never straightforward to come back after two weeks without playing.”
Her opponent Vinci, the seventh seed, lost the second set to American qualifier Mattek-Sands but regained her composure to take the decider.
Pauline Parmentier’s 6-3 6-0 defeat to German qualifier Mona Barthel means Bartoli is the only French representative left in the tournament.
On a good day for the German contingent, ninth seed Angelique Kerber defeated Romania’s Monica Niculescu 6-3 4-6 6-3 to book a clash with top seed and Australian Open finalist Maria Sharapova.
At the Pattaya Open in Thailand, defending champion Daniela Hantuchova, from Slovakia, beat Poland’s Urszula Radwanska 6-3 6-2 to reach the quarterfinals.
She will face Vania King in the last eight after the American beat Alla Kudryavtseva, from Russia 6-1 6-3.
India’s Sania Mirza, a finalilst in 2009, beat Britain’s Anne Keothavong 6-4 7-5 to set up a clash with Hsieh Su-Wei after the Chinese beat Japan’s Kimiko Date-Krumm 7-5 6-0.
