• Sony Ericsson Open

Venus fightback sinks Hantuchova

Svetlana Kuznetsova was suffering with a shoulder injury © Getty Images

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• Gallery: Miami tennis: Monday

Monday gallery

Venus Williams stormed back from losing the first set to claim a 1-6 7-5 6-4 win over Daniela Hantuchova to reach the quarter-finals of the Sony Ericcson Open.

Williams has won her past two tournaments, but the chances of a third on the spin looked remote when she was overwhelmed in the first set and suffered an early break in the second. However, the No. 3 seed is made of stern stuff and launched a counter-offensive in the face of some fierce hitting from Hantuchova.

Williams found her stride as the second set wore on and on the back of some tremendous serving, was able to move into the last eight.

"I haven't seen her play so well in a long time," Williams said of Hantuchova. "She was really executing her game. Of course, I'd like to win in a more straightforward way, but when it counts and when times get tough, I always feel confident I'm going to find a way to win the point. When I hit it hard she got it back, when I hit it high she got it back. So, just a real testimony to how well she was playing today."

Top seed Svetlana Kuznetsova was sent tumbling out in Miami by France's Marion Bartoli 6-3 6-0.

The No. 13 needed just 56 minutes to storm past the struggling Kuznetsova, who crashed out of the second round of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells two weeks ago.

The French Open champion never recovered from a poor start and failed to settle into any rhythm and a number of unforced errors handed Bartoli the opening set.

Kuznetsova, who required physio treatment on her shoulder during the match, then fell completely to pieces as she was bageled by Bartoli who secured her first ever win over the Russian.

The Belgian girls continue to make hay in their comebacks as Kim Clijsters bea Victoria Azarenka 6-4 6-0 and Justine Henin toppled Vera Zvonareva 6-1 6-4.

Caroline Wozniacki is the top seed remaining in the tournament and she lived up to her No. 2 status with a 6-2 6-2 win over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, while Jelena Jankovic's good run was ended by Sam Stosur who won 6-1 7-6(9).

Sixth seed Agnieszka Radwanska had no such problems, easing past Kazakhstan's Yaroslava Shvedova 6-1 6-4 to move into the quarter-finals.

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