Mauresmo reaches last eight

Amelie Mauresmo reached the last eight of the Australian Hardcourts event with a 6-3 6-4 win over Nathalie Dechy.

Former world number one too strong for Dechy

Amelie Mauresmo reached the last eight of the Australian Hardcourts event with a 6-3 6-4 win over Nathalie Dechy. Playing in her first tournament since a shoulder injury curtailed her 2007 season in October, Mauresmo overcame her compatriot with something to spare. The sixth seed, the champion in 1999 and 2005, will face Switzerland's Patty Schnyder in the quarter-finals Schynder recovered from a slow start to win her second round match 2-6 6-3 6-4 against Francesca Schiavone. Top seed Nicole Vaidisova joined them in the last eight with a 6-4 6-2 win over Tatjana Malek as she looks to end a run of 18 months without a WTA Tour title. Awaiting the Czech is China's Li Na, who defeated Australian wildcard Monique Adamczak 6-3 6-2. Russia's Dinara Safina, the defending champion, won through 6-4 2-6 6-4 against Flavia Pennetta. Safina faces Shahar Peer of Israel, who advanced when Julia Schruff retired with respiratory problems after losing the first set 6-0. Slovakian Dominika Cibulkova also progressed to the last eight thanks to a 7-5 6-1 victory over Italy's Tathiana Garbin, and she will play Belarus' Victoria Azarenko in the quarter-finals.