ST. PETERSBURG: Kristina Mladenovic advanced to the quarterfinals of the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy on Thursday by beating Dominika Cibulkova 6-4, 6-4.
Returning to the court for the first time since her first-round loss to Ana Bogdan at the Australian Open, the fourth-seeded Mladenovic broke Cibulkova's serve four times.
Mladenovic will next play either Katerina Siniakova or Ekaterina Makarova in the quarterfinals.
Fifth-seeded Julia Goerges also advanced, beating Italian veteran Roberta Vinci 7-5, 6-0.
Goerges will next face 18-year-old Russian qualifier Elena Rybakina, who has already eliminated Timea Bacsinszky and Caroline Garcia.