Schnyder steps up Cincinnati defence with crushing win

NEW YORK, July 20 (Reuters) Top seed and defending champion Patty Schnyder of Switzerland crushed American Abigail Spears 6-1 6-0 to storm into the quarter-finals of the Cincinnati Open.

After needing three sets and a tie-break to see off Lilia Osterloh in her opening match on Monday, Schnyder, the world number eight, needed just 53 minutes to dispose of the qualifier.

Schnyder, who has not won a title since winning in Cincinnati a year, raced to a 3-0 lead before allowing Spears a brief moment of hope claiming her only game at 3-1.

After that the veteran Swiss swept through the next nine games to keep her title defence on track.

Schnyder will next meet ninth-seeded Sania Mirza of India, who advanced with a 6-1 0-6 6-1 over Finland's Emma Laine.

''I knew I had to work on some things after the first match, I didn't expect such a big difference after just one day,'' Schnyder told reporters.

Fourth seed Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia tamed China's Meng Yuan 7-6 (7-3) 6-1 to reach the last eight while American Amy Frazier rolled to a 6-3 6-1 win over eighth-seeded Argentine Gisela Dulko And Russia's Vera Zvonareva swept past French seventh seed Tatiana Golovin 6-3 6-0 in the day's only first-round contest.

Reuters YA GC0754