Venus Williams in action against Jill Craybas during their first-round match in Tokyo on Tuesday. Venus won 6-3, 6-1. (AFP)

New Delhi: Sania Mirza and her American partner Christina Fusano advanced to the quarter finals of $175,000 Japan Open with a 6-3, 6-2 win over the Polish-Romanian pair of Ursula Radwansaka and Agnes Szatmari in Tokyo on Tuesday.

Sania had on Monday won her singles opener against local wildcard Ayumi Morita. The second seeded Indian will be up against Australian Casey Dellacqua in the second round.

Wimbledon champion Venus Williams overpowered fellow American Jill Craybas 6-3, 6-1 to book her spot in the second round on Tuesday.

The former world No. 1, winner of the Korea Open at the weekend, recovered from an indifferent start on the Tokyo hardcourts, wrapping up the match in just 59 minutes.

Maria Kirilenko, beaten by Williams in Sunday’s final in Seoul, fell at the first hurdle in Tokyo. The third-seeded Russian lost 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 to Frenchwoman Camille Pin.

Fourth seed Ai Sugiyama was another early loser, upset 6-3, 6-3 by Chinese qualifier Yuan Meng to spoil the Japanese player’s 14th appearance in her home event.

On the men’s side, ninth seed Lee Hyung-taik of South Korea advanced with an easy 6-1, 6-4 victory over Taiwan’s Lu Yen-hsun.

Spain’s Ivan Navarro beat 13th-seeded American Sam Querrey 7-5, 6-3 to join Lee in the last 16, while Rainer Schuettler scraped past Japan’s Go Soeda 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 in a first-round match.

Schuettler’s fellow-German Benjamin Becker beat local player Takao Suzuki 7-5, 3-6, 6-4.

(agencies)