Seles through in Shanghai

Seles struggled at first in windy conditions

Click here for Wednesday's results

Monica Seles defeated Saori Obata 6-4 6-2 on Wednesday to reach the quarter-finals of the Shanghai Open.

The tournament's top seed struggled in windy conditions and was far from here best during the first set, regularly double-faulting.

But she gradually found her rhythm and cruised to victory in the second set.

"It was really tough conditions out there," said Seles. "It was very windy and for me it is always tough playing a left-handed player."

Italy's Rita Grande, seeded seventh, defeated Slovakia's Ludmila Cervanova 6-2 6-4 to also reach the quarter-finals.

And Taipei's Janet Lee, ranked 112 in the world, made into the last eight with a 6-0 6-4 win over Rika Fujiwara of Japan.

In the one remaining first-round encounter, fourth seed Ai Sugiyama beat Hungary's Zsofia Gubacsi 7-5 6-2.

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Results from Wednesday's action at the Shanghai Open:

Second round:

M Seles [1] (USA) bt S Obata (Jap) 6-4 -6-2
R Grande [7] (Ita) bt L Cervanova (Slo) 6-2 6-4
J Lee (Tpe) bt R Fujiwara (Jpn) 6-0 6-4

First round:

A Sugiyama [4] (Jap) bt Z Gubacsi (Hun) 7-5 6-2

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