India's Sania Mirza became the first player to reach the quarter-finals of the Japan Open Wednesday, beating Viktoriya Kutuzova of Ukraine in straight sets. The 22-year-old Mirza, who won the Australian Open mixed doubles with Mahesh Bhupathi this season, took advantage of a rash of double faults from Kutuzova on her way to a 6-4, 6-3 win.
In the last eight on Friday, Mirza will play the 2006 champion, Marion Bartoli of France, seeded second. Bartoli, battling for the final spot in the season-ending championships, thumped Japanese wild card Kurumi Nara 6-1, 6-1 in just 61 minutes.
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