Thu Apr 17 17:56:43 2008

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Sharapova, Jankovic, Serena reach quarters in Charleston

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Charleston, SC (Sports Network) - Australian Open titlist Maria Sharapova, top-seeded and defending Charleston champion Jelena Jankovic and former world No. 1 American star Serena Williams highlighted Thursday's third-round winners at the $1.34 million Family Circle Cup tennis event.

The second-seeded and former top-ranked Sharapova got past Ukrainian Tatiana Perebiynis 7-5, 6-2 in 1 1/2 hours on the green clay at Family Circle Tennis Center. Sharapova and Williams will do battle here in a blockbuster quarterfinal on Friday.

Williams is 4-2 lifetime against Sharapova, including wins over the Russian in their last three meetings. The two superstars have never met on clay.

The high-flying Sharapova is an awesome 24-1 overall this season, including three titles in four events. She captured her third career major title at the Aussie Open back in January and is fresh off her clay-court championship last week at Amelia Island.

Jankovic drilled Russian Anastasia Rodionova 6-0, 6-2, while a fifth-seeded Williams came from behind to beat 12th-seeded Slovenian Katarina Srebotnik 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. Jankovic defeated Russian Dinara Safina in last year's Charleston finale, while Williams was the big winner at the so-called "Fifth Major" in Miami just two weeks ago.

The Serbian Jankovic will meet Russian Vera Zvonareva in the quarterfinals.

Fourth-seeded Russian Elena Dementieva dropped 13th-seeded Belarusian Victoria Azarenka 6-4, 7-5, while a ninth-seeded Zvonareva upended sixth-seeded Wimbledon runner-up Marion Bartoli of France 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 and 10th-seeded Hungarian Agnes Szavay ousted an eighth-seeded Safina 6-2, 7-5 on Day 4.

One other third-rounder saw France's Alize Cornet douse Romanian Sorana Cirstea 6-1, 7-5. Cornet will face Szavay in the round of eight here.

The 2008 Family Circle winner will earn $196,900.