Tennis: Azarenka advances to 4th round in Indian Wells

INDIAN WELLS, California: Top seed Victoria Azarenka charged ominously into the fourth round of the Indian Wells WTA tournament on Sunday while third-seeded Petra Kvitova made an unexpected early exit.

Belarusian world number one Azarenka crushed Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-1 6-2, improving her record to 19-0 this year, but Kvitova was ousted 2-6 6-2 6-3 by American teenager Christina McHale.

The pony-tailed Azarenka, who was taken to a third set tiebreak in her opening match against Germany's Mona Barthel, broke Kuznetsova three times in the first set and twice in the second to sweep through.

Serving for the match at 5-2, she went 40-15 up before double-faulting but then sealed the win on the next point when her opponent's backhand flew long.

Kuznetsova, who won the 2004 U.S. Open and the 2009 French Open, had won four of their previous meetings but she was outplayed by the Belarusian on a sun-splashed afternoon in the California desert.

Azarenka, who clinched her first grand slam crown at the Australian Open in January, will next meet Germany's Julia Goerges, a 6-3 6-4 winner against Spaniard Anabel Medina Garrigues.

Goerges, who won her second WTA singles title in Stuttgart last year, was eager to take on the game's top player.

Kvitova made a strong start against the 19-year-old McHale before errors began creeping into her game and she was bundled out of the tournament after a match lasting nearly two hours.

French Open champion Li Na beat fellow Chinese Zheng Jie 6-1, 6-3 her first victory over her compatriot in five career meetings.

Li became the first Asian woman to win a grand slam singles title with her victory over Italian Francesca Schiavone in Paris last year.

In other matches, fifth seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland eased past Italy's Flavia Pennetta 6-4 6-2 while Czech Klara Zakopalova was gifted a spot in the fourth round when Russian Vera Zvonareva became the latest victim of a viral infection affecting the tournament. (Reuters)