Third seed Lindsay Davenport of the United States advanced to the quarter-finals of the US Open tennis championships by defeating Russia's 19th-ranked Nadia Petrova 6-0, 6-7 (6/8), 6-2.

The three-time Grand Slam champion reached her seventh consecutive US Open quarter-final, where she will face the winner of a later match between Russia's 36th-ranked Elena Likhovtseva and 25th-ranked Paola Suarez of Argentina.

But Davenport was limping by the finish of her first test at the year's final Grand Slam event, the left foot she was to have surgery upon after the Open hurting as it did when she pulled out of a WTA final a week ago.

Davenport, 27, won the first set in 22 minutes but battled through the second, trading four consecutive service breaks. Davenport held in the 12th game, saving a set point with a 101-mph ace, to force a tie-breaker.

After seizing a 5-2 tie-break lead, Davenport dropped the next four points, surrendering the last on a double fault to give Petrova another set point.

The Russian sent a forehand long, but Davenport pushed a forehand beyond the baseline of an unguarded court on the next point and Petrova swatted a forehand winner to force a third set.

Petrova netted a forehand to surrender a break in the fourth game of the final set and Davenport broke again to finish the match, taking advantage of Petrova spraying a backhand long and netting a forehand on the last points.

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