Stosur wins in Tokyo
Stosur wins in Tokyo 
From correspondents in Tokyo
Former Australian Captain January 31, 2007
SAM Stosur claimed a place in the last 16 at the Pan Pacific Open today as fellow Australian Nicole Pratt again fell to former world No.1 Martina Hingis.
Stosur defeated Russian world No.21 Vera Zvonareva 6-4 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 in Tokyo to set up a second round meeting with China’s Li Na.
It was the second time in three weeks Stosur, the world No.27, has beaten Zvonareva after her recent triumph over the Russian in the first round at the Sydney International.
Pratt, meanwhile, crashed out to second seed Hingis 6-1 7-5 in the second round, although it was an improvement from the pair’s first meeting on the Gold Coast earlier this year when the Swiss star romped home 6-0 6-1.
World No.1 and top seed Maria Sharapova of Russia plays her first match of the tournament tomorrow against Italy’s Francesca Schiavone.
Sharapova, Hingis, third seed and defending champion Elena Dementieva, as well as fourth seed Jelena Jankovic, all received first round byes.
In other first-round matches today, China’s Zheng Jie defeated American Bethanie Mattek 6-2 6-1, while Italy’s Mara Santangelo downed Japan’s Aiko Nakamura 7-5 6-0.
Russia’s Maria Kirilenko upset seventh-seeded Shahar Peer of Israel 6-2 6-3, while Russia’s Elena Likhovtseva cruised to a 6-3 6-2 win over Argentina’s Gisela Dulko.
Agence France-Presse