Bartoli survives error-plagued opening match

CARLSBAD, California: Top seed Marion Bartoli survived a struggle lasting for more than three hours, with the Frenchwoman overcoming a massive 18 double-faults to advanced at the WTA hardcourt event here on Wednesday.

Bartoli defeated American Vania King 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 in an error-plagued marathon match to reach the quarter-finals after a bye in the first round.

Bartoli, who will not play in the London Olympics due to a longstanding dispute with the French federation, won a battle in which both women took lengthy injury breaks, with Bartoli going off court for treatment in the third set.

Bartoli advanced despite losing serve eight times against the world 59th-ranked King.

The French player lost serve in the opening game of the final set but fought to get it back as she broke for four-all before closing out the match at La Costa on a concluding break.

US Olympian Varvara Lepchenko upset South African eighth seed Chanelle Scheepers 6-4, 6-2 to reach her third quarter-final of the season.

The 44th-ranked Lepchenko, who will join Venus and Serena Williams plus fellow Carlsbad competitor Christina McHale on a flight to London next week for the July 28 start of the Olympic tennis event, never faced a break point in a victory that took less than 90 minutes.

Lepchenko reached quarter-finals this season indoors in Memphis in February and on the blue clay of May's Madrid Masters, where she lost to Agnieszka Radwanska.

The American broke Scheepers three times and advanced as the South African sailed a return long.

Lepchenko next takes on fourth seed Nadia Petrova, who beat American Alexa Glatch 6-4, 6-3.

Petrova's tournament participation dates back to 2001, with her best showings being a pair of quarter-finals in 2003 and 2007.

The 30-year-old Russian with 11 WTA titles, who won her last event on grass in the Netherlands the week prior to Wimbledon, is Olympic-bound next week.

Taiwanese qualifier Chan Yung-Jan beat Britain's Heather Watson 6-3, 7-6 (7/2).

Chan, ranked 161st, will face a Friday test against either fourth seed Jelena Jankovic, the former world number one Serb, or Hungarian Melinda Czink.

Chan won the opening set in 40 minutes, breaking Watson in the final game as the British player, who failed to convert on any of her seven break points, served to stay in it.

In the second, six service breaks came thick and fast as the set went to a tiebreaker. Chan took a 5-2 lead and put away a crosscourt volley to earn the victory.