Number 16 seed Flavia Pennetta of Italy eased through to a matchup with Russian sixth seed Dinara Safina with a 6-3 6-0 victory over Amelie Mauresmo in the fourth round of the US Open.

Former world number one Mauresmo was struggling to find form for a long time, but has recently shown signs of getting back on track. In the match against Pennetta, however, Mauresmo produced 14 doubles and 40 unforced errors, and eased the Italian’s way into her first Grand Slam quarterfinals.

Safina and Pennetta have played each other four times, and all the encounters were won by the Russian. (source: Reuters, photo: Getty Images)

Because of exhaustion Dinara Safina had almost given up her fourth-round match up with German qualifier Anna-Lena Groenefeld before it even started but her coach gave her much needed support and the Russian sixth seed advanced 7-5 6-0.

"I finished the warm-up and I just said, I cannot push myself anymore. I could not stop from crying," said world number seven Safina, who has reached six finals in her last seven tournaments.

"(My coach) said, 'We know that you're not a machine. Just go on the court and do whatever you can this day. If it's 20 percent left in your body, just give this 20 percent.

"'Don't use another percent just throwing the balls around and shouting. Whatever you have, just try to concentrate and put it into the game.' So that's what I did today."

World number 141 Anna-Lena Groenefeld, who had defeated both 11th seed Daniela Hantuchova and 17th seed Alize Cornet at the US Open, was a tough opponent in the first set, but collapsed in the second. (source: Reuters, photo: safina-dinara.com)

Swiss teenager Timea Bacsinszky almost stunned sixth seed Dinara Safina in straight sets, but the Russian recovered in the last moment and continued her successful run on the Tour (since May, in-form Safina has reached six finals in seven tournaments).

World No.60 Bacsinszky, playing in the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time, won the first set, and in the second she was only two points away from victory when scrappy Safina woke up, fought back, and forced the match into a decider. As expected, Bacsinszky wasn’t much of a challenge in the third set after a great opportunity in the second slipped through her hands. Final score: 3-6 7-5 6-2.

Safina will next meet Anna-Lena Groenefeld of Germany. (photo: safina-dinara.com)

Russian sixth seed Dinara Safina advanced to the third round of the US Open with a 6-4 6-3 victory over Roberta Vinci of Italy.

Roland Garros finalist Safina, who has won three WTA titles this season as well as silver medal at the Olympics, established a 3-0 lead in the first set and 3-1 in the second, but her inconsistency enabled world No.164 Vinci to break back and threaten a fightback.

Still, hard-hitting Safina extended her win-loss record since Wimbledon to 17-0 and will play Switzerland's Timea Bacsinszky, ranked 60th, in round three. (source: Reuters, photo: Getty Images)

Elena Dementieva is the singles gold medalist at the Beijing Olympics, having defeated fellow Russian Dinara Safina 3-6 7-5 6-3.

What an achievement for Russian tennis, all the three medals were taken by Russian players with Dementieva winning the gold, Safina silver and Zvonareva bronze with a victory 6-0 7-5 over China's Li Na.

Dementieva took advantage of 17 double-fault committed by Safina, plus, the eventual champion Dementieva hit twice as many winners, 26 to 13.

"I never expected a medal — gold, silver or bronze," said Dementieva. "It's unbelievable. For me this is the best moment in my career. I'll never forget it."

The 26-year-old Dementieva won the silver medal in Sydney in 2000. (source: ESPN, photo via Tennis Info Blog)