Australian No.1 Samantha Stosur will be seeking to inflict her first victory over world No.11 Dinara Safina when the pair clash in the quarter-finals of the women's hardcourt tennis tournament on the Gold Coast on Thursday.

Stosur, 22, booked a date with Safina following her late-night 6-3 6-4 victory over wildcard Sophie Ferguson in an all-Australian centre-court encounter.

The Gold Coast product led 5-0 in the first set before a few errors crept into her game, giving Ferguson the confidence to start a spirited but fruitless fightback.

Russian Safina, the sister of former men's world No.1 Marat Safin, has beaten Stosur on both occasions they have met - in Indian Wells and Moscow.

"I'm going to play my own style of tennis, go for my shots and keep trying to be aggressive in coming to the net," said the world No.29.

"But I know she's going to do that as well. I guess it's a matter of who will be more consistent at it.

"I know it's going to be tough. I have to be confident in my own ability but I know it's going to be a battle out there."

Second seed Safina took just under an hour and a half to secure a hard-fought 6-2 7-5 victory over compatriot Maria Kirilenko on Wednesday night.

With the support of the crowd behind Stosur, Safina is also expecting a tough battle on Thursday afternoon.

"I practiced with her the other day and I think she really likes to play here," Safina noted.

"She'll have all the home support so I'll have to stick to my game plan and fight as hard as I can and let's see who's the stronger."

Serbian teenager and world No.14 Ana Ivanovic said she hoped to take on five-time grand slam champion Martina Hingis in Saturday's final after cruising to a 6-1 6-2 thrashing of Venezuela's Milagros Sequera in second round action on Wednesday.

Third seed Ivanovic, 19, finished off her hapless opponent in only 45 minutes before declaring she would relish another crack at Hingis, whom she beat in a final in Montreal five months ago.

"I would love to again play against her (in the final)," said Ivanovic, who is on the opposite side of the draw to world No.7 Hingis.

"It was an amazing feeling for me (beating Hingis in Montreal)."

Ivanovic will clash with fifth-seeded Israeli Shahar Peer on Thursday for a semi-final berth against either Stosur or Safina.

Hingis should post a comfortable victory over Colombia's world No.54 Catalina Castano in the feature night match.

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP