Kvitova, Jankovic advance at Generali Ladies

Petra Kvitova defeated Patricia Mayr-Archleitner 6-2, 6-3 Thursday at the Generali Ladies to reach her second quarterfinal since winning the Wimbledon title. Ranked a career-high fourth, Kvitova had a shaky start as she dropped serve at love early in the opening set before taking control of the match.

Kvitova, who reached the semifinals in Tokyo last month, will play former champion Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia in the quarterfinals.

The eighth-seeded Hantuchova beat Ksenia Pervak of Russia 5-7, 6-3, 6-4. Hantuchova was two breaks down in the second set before winning six straight games. She closed out the win on her second match point.

Jelena Jankovic rallied to defeat Britain’s Anne Keothavong 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 to advance to the quarterfinals.

The former No. 1 won just one service game in the opening set but then dominated the match. The third-seeded Serb player will take on Russian qualifier Evgeniya Rodina for a place in the semifinals.

Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia lost a 5-1 lead in the first set before defeating Italy’s Sara Errani 6-7 (1), 6-3, 6-1.

In other second-round play, Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic downed Alberta Brianti 6-4, 6-2 without facing a break point. In her sixth quarterfinal of the season, Safarova will take on Sorana Cirstea of Romania.