After a miserable first set, Sania tried to put up some resistance in the second set, stretching it to a tie-breaker but lost 6-1, 7-6 (7-4) to the fifth-seeded Slovak on Tuesday.

Sania was rendered helpless in the first set as Hantuchova saved all eight break points. A similar story appeared to be unfolding in the second set as well as Sania trailed 0-5 before rallying to force the match into a tie-breaker, which she lost.

Sharapova’s next
Hantuchova will meet former champion Maria Sharapova of Russia in the quarterfinals.

Sania, seeded 21st, said she played in pain as her recurrent wrist injury had flared up. “It’s very, very painful. I don’t know how I was playing out there as the ball was just flying out because I couldn’t move my wrist,” the Indian said after the match.

"Usually it doesn't get this sore, so I'm a little worried right now. It gets sore and then it gets okay when I ice it and do whatever I have to do," she said. Sania, seeking MRI to diagnose the actual problem, said she would look for some other options to cure it.

"It's a big step to even change it half an inch because my game is my forehand.

“You know, it's not easy to change a grip at the stage where you're, like, 30 in the world. I would obviously like to look at other options before that."

She had suffered the injury after US Open Grand Slam last year which had also forced her to withdraw from her home WTA event.

Sania also said the windy conditions here had aggravated her problem by affecting her timing of shots.
Meanwhile, Leander Pa-es and Paul Hanley of Australia were ousted in the quarterfinals of the men’s doubles event. The eighth-seeded Paes and Hanley suffered a meek 2-6, 1-6 loss to third seeds Daniel Nestor of Canada and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia.

Easy for Federer
World number one Roger Federer looked like his old dominant self as he swept aside France’s Nicolas Mahut to reach the fourth round, adds AFP.

Federer, whose uncharacteristic slow start to the season has led to suggestions his position atop the world rankings could be in jeopardy, showed any such prediction was premature as he crushed Mahut 6-1, 6-1 in just 53 minutes.

In the fourth round, Federer will face Croatian Ivan Ljubicic, a 6-3, 6-4 winner over Spain’s Tommy Robredo.

Davydenko falls
Russian Nikolay Davydenko, the world number four, became the biggest casualty of the event, falling to unseeded American Mardy Fish 6-3, 6-2.

Fish earned a fourth-round match against Australian Lleyton Hewitt, who beat Russian Mikhail Youzhny 7-5, 6-1.
Seventh-seeded Argentinian David Nalbandian advanced with a 7-6 (7-1), 0-6, 7-6 (8-6) victory over Czech Radek Stepanek, and next meets Spain’s Juan Carlos Ferrero. Ferrero edged Croatian Mario Ancic 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9-7).

Scottish 11th seed Andy Murray and German Tommy Haas booked a fourth-round meeting. Murray beat Croatian Ivo Karlovic 7-6 (9-7), 6-7 (3-7), 6-3, while Haas, on the comeback trail after having a third shoulder operation last year, beat Spain’s Fernando Verdasco 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 6-1.

In women’s play, Australian Open champion Sha-rapova, the fourth seed, preserved her perfect 2008 record with a 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 victory over Ukrainian Alona Bondarenko.

Ivanovic struggles
Top-seeded Serbian Ana Ivanovic was tested by Italy’s Francesca Schiavone but emerged with a 2-6, 7-5, 6-2 victory. In the quarterfinals, she’ll face Russian Vera Zvonareva, who ended the run of Australian Casey Dellacqua 6-7 (5-7), 6-0, 6-4.

Second-seeded Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova reac-hed the quarterfinals with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki.

Kuznetsova will face Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska, who rallied to beat American Ashley Harkl-eroad 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.

Third-seeded Serbian Jelena Jankovic defeated Spain’s Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-3, 6-3 and next faces Lindsay Davenport.

The American veteran, in the middle of a fine run, defeated sixth-seeded Marion Bartoli of France 6-2, 7-5.