UK, July 26: Anna Kournikova reached the last eight of the WTA Bank of the West Classic thanks to a straight sets win over an Indonesian qualifier. The Russian got the better of Wynne Prakusya 6-1 6-4 to set up a quarter-final meeting with top seed Venus Williams.
The world number two defeated fellow American Meghann Shaughnessy to avenge a loss twelve months ago.
Kournikova's victory over Prakusya was her first back-to-back win win since February.
She had lost 12 of her previous 15 matches before she arrived in California.
Lindsay Davenport marked her return to the court after knee surgery with a 6-3 6-0 win over Luxembourg's Anne Kremer.
Continuing her comeback after nine months out, Davenport had her serve broken early, but she eventually roared past Kremer.
"I definitely shed a few tears in the locker room. This is where I've wanted to be since I got wheeled out of surgery."
Davenport, who is now ranked ninth in the world, had returned to court last weekend playing two Fed Cup matches against Israel.
She will next face fifth seed Jelena Dokic. "I'm definitely not back to where I want to be yet," Davenport admitted. "It takes time, and I'm going to have to fight through a lot of matches where I'm not playing great."
Bureau Report