Kuznetsova sees off Likhovtseva

Kuznetsova held off a late charge by Likhovtseva

Second seed Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia knocked out compatriot Elena Likhovtseva to advance to the fourth round at the Pacific Life Open.

Kuznetsova disposed of Likhovtseva 6-1 7-6 (7-4) to set up a meeting with 16th seed Ai Sugiyama, who defeated Tathiana Garbin of Italy 6-7 (7-4) 6-1 6-1.

Sixth seed Nicole Vaidisova beat Ahsha Rolle after the American retired with the score at 6-3 4-1.

Elsewhere, fourth seed Nadia Petrova overcame Laura Granville 4-6 6-3 6-0.

Former US Open champion Kuznetsova said: "It was hard for me to play her because she's one of the best match players on the tour.

"At the start I was very confused and she looked like she couldn't put the ball in. Then she started to play better. In the important moments, I started playing well."

I'm gonna mix it up a little bit. I just really like playing here. It's a fun tournament Nicole Vaidisova

The 17-year-old Vaidisova reached her second career Grand Slam semi-final at the Australian Open in January and is seeded to reach the quarter-finals at Indian Wells.

She said: "I've played pretty well. I'm going to mix it up a little bit. I just really like playing here. It's a fun tournament, so it always gets you more excited."

Tatiana Golovin of France, a 6-2 6-0 winner over Australian Samantha Stosur, will now face Petrova, while Ana Ivanovic of Serbia thrashed Alicia Molik 6-2 6-1.

Ninth-seeded Russian Dinara Safina was upset 6-4 6-3 by Marion Bartoli of France, with top seed Maria Sharapova due to face fellow Russian Vera Zvonareva on Tuesday.