Top seed Maria Sharapova nipped?her opponent en route to the quarterfinals at the China Open of WTA tournament on Thursday.

All the berths for the quarters have been decided after Thursday's competition.

Shahar Peer broke Maria Sharapova thrice to destroy an otherwise perfect opener at China Open for the world number one Russian, who re-topped the WTA Tour Ranking board after the US Open. Sharapova cracked 26 winners against 21 unforced errors to beat Peer 6-0, 5-7, 6-2 in two hours.

The 19-year-old sensation, however, still proved herself too powerful for her first match opponent at the event as she claimed the win with breaking the Israeli thrice in the first set and taking it without losing a game.

The second set went on with a theme of breaking and being broken. Peer was broken twice in the sixth and tenth games, but the Israeli broke back thrice in the fifth, ninth and eleventh to pull back one set.

Again in the decider, the Russian teenager found back her form to break Peer twice for win.

With this victory, Sharapova improved her win-lose record of this year to 49-8 while that of career on 170-42.

The former French Open champion, who claimed her first ever career Grand Slam title at Roland Garros 15 months ago, will next meet the 39-ranked Japanese Shinobu Asagoe who breezed past Jill Craybas from the United States 6-2, 6-4 earlier on Thursday.

"I got a very good first set, maybe it's too comfortable out there before she started playing better. Of course I got confident for the match (with the first set win), but in the middle I can't break her back and I just don't play very well in the second set. Finally I got myself mentally together and that's why I can win the match."

Sharapova will next play the 39-ranked Japanese Shinobu Asagoe,who breezed past Jill Craybas from the United States 6-2, 6-4 earlier on Thursday.

"She's physically very healthy, I'm being aggressive when facing her again," said Sharapova.

After younger sister's early exit, Venus Williams, the only hope to defend the dignity of the Williams', overcame a left knee injury to come by a comfortable win over 54-ranked Spaniard Llagostera 6-3, 6-1 in less than an hour.

But Venus announced to withdraw from the China Open WTA tournament on Friday.

"Just sorry to have to say that I have pulled out of the tournament. There's some problem on my left knee area which started from last night's match. I did finish last night's match but I can't play today, you know, not fit to play professional tennis today," Venus told a press conference Friday afternoon.

"What's a regret! I have so much fun. Here I played well and even danced on court. I'm having fun time in Beijing obviously now. I have great time. I hope really I can come next year. But I just really start worry about the sore," added the American after announcing her withdrawal on Friday.

It's only the third time that Venus, the former world number one, withdrew from a WTA tournament due to fitness problems caused by a new injury. And she said the Guangzhou Open later this month is still on her schedule.

Chinese Zheng Jie, whose current world rank is 50, couldn't go a step further in the second round, falling to Poland's Marta Domachowska 6-3, 6-1, here on Thursday.

Zheng, the Chinese wildcard, ranked 50th in the world, easily dropped her first game in Set One within two minutes but managed to level the score 1-1. Trailing at 3-2, Zheng equalized at 3-3 but lost in three straight games. The first Chinese woman to reacha Grand Slam fourth round at Roland Carros in 2004 was broken in the first game in the second set, and came to trail at 3-0. The WTA tour titlist at Hobart in 2005 only won one game back and gavein 6-1.

With this victory, Domachowska, finalist at 2005 Strasbourg Open, cruised to the quarters, her third time in WTA tours.

In other two singles matches to decide the last two berths for the quarters, Maria Kirilenko of Russia and Shinobu Asagoe of Japan, separately defeated Aiko Nakamura of Japan 6-1, 7-6 (3) andJill Craybas of the United States 6-2, 6-4.

Zheng Jie turned up on Thursday's doubles court, pairing Yan Zi,beat the duo of Liga Dekmeijere of Latvia and Martina Muller of Germany 7-5, 6-2. While another Chinese pair Li Na/Peng Shuai werestumbled by Corina Morariu of the United States and Italy's FlaviaPennetta 6-4, 6-3.

(Xinhua News Agency September 23, 2005)