Michelle Larcher de Brito

Michelle Larcher de Brito has cut her ranking in more than half this season with some exciting showings on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, including her first career quarterfinal finish at Tashkent. Recently she added another accolade to her growing resumé, receiving the Revelation Award from the Fundacao Luso-Brasiliera (Portuguese-Brazilian Foundation).
 

The favorites at the $145,000 Tashkent Open flourished on Friday, as all four quarterfinals went to form. The most notable match-up involved the top-seeded Peng Shuai and crafty Romanian Monica Niculescu and it was Peng who delivered in the end, in three tough sets.
 

Sorana Cirstea moved closer to her first final of the season, in holding off 15-year-old Michelle Larcher de Brito, 6-2, 7-6(5) to advance to the Tashkent semifinals.
 
Cirstea was one of three Romanian quarterfinalists in the Tier IV tournament, but by day's end she was the only Romanian standing.
 

The seeds went 3-0 at the Tashkent Open on Thursday, securing quarterfinal berths at the Tier IV event. Joining them in the last eight is 15-year-old Michelle Larcher de Brito of Portugal, who made her first Tour quarterfinal by defeating Tatiana Poutchek.

Two of tennis' top teenage talents face off in Tashkent tomorrow when Michelle Larcher de Brito takes on Sorana Cirstea in the quarterfinals of the Tier IV event.
 
Larcher de Brito, the 15-year-old phenom from Portugal, reached her first career WTA Tour quarterfinal with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Tatiana Poutchek.
 
"It really feels very nice to reach the quarterfinal round of a WTA tour event, this is just the ninth event I have played on the WTA tour and it's indeed a happy moment for me," Larcher de Brito said.
 

Peng Shuai eased into the last eight of the Tashkent Open on Thursday with a 6-1 7-5 victory over Dutch qualifier Arantxa Rus.
 
The top seed from China, Peng will face sixth seed Monica Niculescu in the quarter-finals.
 
The Romanian had been leading 6-3 3-4 in her second-round match with Yaroslava Shvedova when the Kazakhstan player retired due to illness.
 
Another Romanian, Sorana Cirstea, also claimed her place in the next round thanks to a 6-1 6-4 success over Russia's Anna Lapushchenkova.

Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia advanced to the Rogers Cup quarter-finals on Thursday in Montreal after being extended by 15-year-old Michelle Larcher de Brito.
 
Kuznetsova won by scores of 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 at Uniprix Stadium over Larcher de Brito, who moved to Florida at age nine to train with famed coach Nick Bollettieri.
 
Slovakian teen Dominika Cibulkova also advanced on Thursday, knocking off No. 12 seed Nadia Petrova of Russia 7-6 (2), 6-2.
 

There are pros and cons to being one of the top eight seeds in the Rogers Cup Canadian Open women's tennis tournament.
 
The schedule for the top seeds isn't as taxing because they receive a bye in the first round. But that can also be a disadvantage because they start cold against an opponent who has had an opportunity to acclimate herself to new surroundings.
 
Top-seeded Ana Ivanovic referred to the situation yesterday after she struggled before beating Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.
 

She's not old enough to earn a driver's license, but Michelle Larcher de Brito continues to make inroads on the WTA Tour.
 
The 15-year-old Larcher de Brito beat her second top 20 player of the season, dispatching 18th-ranked Italian Flavia Pennetta, 6-3, 0-6, 6-3, to surge into the round of 16 at the Tier I Rogers Cup in Montreal today.
 
Pennetta was a finalist at the East West Bank Classic on Sunday, losing to Dinara Safina in the Carson final.
 

Dinara Safina was a straight-sets winner over fellow Russian Anastiasa Rodionova at the Rogers Cup on Wednesday, the biggest day so far for the women's tennis tournament.
 
Seeded seventh, Safina won by scores of 6-4, 6-2 at Uniprix Stadium in Montreal. She advanced to the third round and will face No. 9 Patty Schnyder of Switzerland, who defeated Monica Niculescu of Romania 6-1, 7-5.