Sania-Bethanie advance to Rome quarters

Sania Mirza and her American partner Bethanie Mattek-Sands scored a straight set win over Francesca Schiavone and Samantha Stosur to move to the quarter-finals of the WTA Premier event in Rome.

The sixth seeded Indo-American pair registered a 6-4, 6-3 win over the Italian-Australian combination in one hour and 13 minutes in the second round of the prestigious clay court tournament.

There was little to separate the two teams as the winners scored a total of 59 points while Samantha and Francesca scored 47.

Both the teams had plenty of break chances but did not convert many. While Sania and Bethanie converted five of 12 chances, their rivals could cash in on just three off 11.

Sania and Bethanie now have a tough task at hand as they face top seeds and local favourites Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci in the USD 2,369,000 event.