Brits make Memphis quarters

Elena Baltacha and Anne Keothavong both reached the quarter-finals of the WTA Cellular South Cup in Memphis on Wednesday.

British stars reach last eight after convincing wins

Elena Baltacha and Anne Keothavong both reached the quarter-finals of the WTA Cellular South Cup in Memphis on Wednesday. Keothavong booked her place with a commanding straight sets win over Michelle Larcher de Brito. The Britain dominated the Portuguese player to go through to the last eight courtesy of a 6-3 6-1 success. The 26-year-old was tested in the early stages of the match, to suggest a tight battle ahead, but Keothavong stepped up her performance and was eventually cruising. Keothavong briefly broke into the world's top 50 last season before her season was ended early by a knee injury, but she was dominant against Larcher De Brito.

Commanding

Although Keothavong was commanding on serve and fired down six aces, with the result suggesting she is ready to return to the top 100, having lost points during her six-month spell on the sidelines. She will face Croatia's Karolina Sprem for a place in the semi-finals. Sprem beat her fellow Croatian Ajla Tomljanovic in three sets. Later, British number one Baltacha enjoyed a straight-sets victory over Canadian Valerie Tetreault. The 26-year-old beat Tetreault 6-4 6-4 in their second-round clash to extend her winning streak to seven matches. She will face top seed Maria Sharapova in the quarter-finals after the Russian trounced American Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-1 6-1. Baltacha rose to a career-high ranking of 70th on Monday after winning the $100,000 ITF Dow Corning Classic in Michigan at the weekend.