Tokyo - Defending champion Elena Dementieva breezed past fellow Russian Elena Likhovtseva to reach the quarterfinals of the Pan Pacific Open on Thursday.
The third-seeded Russian, who captured her biggest career title here last year, faced down a late challenge from her 58th-ranked opponent to win 6-4, 7-5.
She joined former world No 1 Martina Hingis of Switzerland and fourth seed Jelena Jankovic of Serbia in Friday's quarterfinals.
"It was a bit difficult to end the match in the second set. I think I just lost my concentration a little bit when it was four-love for me," said Dementieva, ranked eighth in the world.
"She (Likhovtseva) started to play well like she has nothing to lose and she was going for the winners down the line and she did it very good, but it's important to finish in two sets and save some energy for the next round."
"I think it's going to be very difficult to defend my title this time, but I'll try to play my best. I'm really enjoying playing here in Tokyo, it's great to be back as the defending champion," added the 25-year-old.
Jankovic needed only 62 minutes to beat China's Zheng Jie 6-4, 6-0 for her first win in three Tokyo appearances, while four-time champion Hingis downed Australian qualifier Nicole Pratt 6-1, 7-5 on Wednesday.
Jankovic, who has already won in Auckland this year, attributed her improved performance to giving herself a few extra days to adjust from the Australian Open courts in Melbourne.
"I've never seemed to play well here, I always had difficulties to adjust to this court, because it's a big change from Melbourne, but I did play well, especially for the first match today," said the 21-year-old.
"I had quite a tough opponent who brings a lot of ball back, but I was playing really aggressive and I tried to dictate big points, and I also served well, so it helped me a lot," said the Serbian.
In the quarterfinals, Jankovic will play her compatriot and fifth seed Ana Ivanovic, who outclassed Mara Santangelo of Italy 4-6, 6-1, 6-2.
Dementieva will take on Roberta Vinci of Italy, the winner over France's Severine Bremond 6-3, 6-0.