Russian Dinara Safina remained on course to retain her title, taming France's [Images] Virginie Razzano 6-4, 6-3 on Wednesday to reach the women's Paris Open quarter-finals.

The seventh seed will take on the winner of Thursday's second-round match between compatriot Vera Dushevina and top-seed Amelie Mauresmo.

The French woman is returning to action after clinching her first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in Melbourne last month.

"It was everything but an easy match because Virginie played pretty well," Safina said. "She was very solid on her baseline and she did some good runs.

"I feel more relaxed as I'm improving from one match to the other," she added.

Fifth-seed Elena Dementieva took less than an hour to beat Swedish qualifier Sofia Arvidsson 6-2 6-2 and cruise into the second round.

Dementieva arrived in Paris on Monday after winning in Tokyo at the weekend.

"I was a little bit tired," the world number eight said. "It's tough to play when you are jet-lagged. I hope it will be better tomorrow. What I want right now is to take a nap."

Dementieva will face France's Nathalie Dechy, who humbled compatriot Marion Bartoli 6-0, 6-2 for her first victory this year.

"I came here chasing for a success," Dechy said. "I knew that my game was improving but I needed a win. I served rather well today."

Second-seed Mary Pierce reached the quarter-finals thanks to a 6-2 6-4 victory over Spain's Anabel Medina Garrigues.

The world number six looked in a relatively good shape and said she had overcome the disappointment of her elimination in the second round of the Australian Open.

"I didn't play my best tennis tonight but I won and it's the important thing," said Pierce who will face compatriot Emilie Loit in the quarter-finals.

"It's good for the public here as they can be sure that a Frenchwoman will be in the last four," she said.

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