Marion Bartoli kept her chances of qualifying for the WTA Championships alive on Thursday after she beat Ksenia Pervak of Russia 6-1, 6-1 to reach the quarterfinals of the Kremlin Cup. In men’s play, Jeremy Chardy of France eliminated third-seeded Aleksandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine 6-3, 7-6 (6). The third-seeded Bartoli, fresh off her seventh career triumph at the Japan Open, needs to take the title in Moscow to secure the last spot for the season-ending event in Istanbul. “I really do not think of it,” the Frenchwoman said. “I’m just happy that I’ve just won one more title. I’m just trying to fight for every point when I’m on the court and I try to play the best I can. And then we’ll see where it takes me.” Agnieszka Radwanska, who leads Bartoli by 330 points, lost to Lucie Safarova on Wednesday. After dropping serve in the opening game, the eighth-ranked Bartoli won 11 consecutive games for a set and 5-0 lead. Pervak saved five match points on her serve in the sixth game of the second set before Bartoli served out the match, closing with an ace. “I played well on my side,” said Bartoli, who, coming from Japan, had practiced only for two days and needed time to adjust to the balls and indoor surface. “For the first 15-20 minutes, there were very tight games,” she said. “And though I was leading, every game was really close. But then I began serving better.” In Friday’s quarterfinals, Bartoli will play Elena Vesnina, who beat fellow Russian Ekaterina Ivanova 6-3, 6-4. In other women’s second-round matches, eighth-seeded Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia beat Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic 7-6(5), 6-2.
Bartoli crushes Pervak in Kremlin Cup
