Serena Williams, Safina into Sydney quarterfinals  — Top-ranked
Serena Williams opened her season with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Maria
Jose Martinez Sanchez on Tuesday, reaching the quarterfinals at
a Sydney International where other leading players have
struggled.  No. 3 Svetlana Kuznetsova lost 7-5, 6-2 to
Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova later Tuesday, joining fourth-
seeded Caroline Wozniacki, No. 7 Jelena Jankovic and No. 8 Vera
Zvonareva as losers in the first two rounds.  Second-seeded
Dinara Safina was in trouble in her first set since she quit
with a back injury at the season-ending championships in
October, losing the opening five games before recovering to win
nine straight in a 7-5, 6-4 victory over Agnieszka Radwanska of
Poland.  Safina will next play Olympic gold medalist Elena
Dementieva, who held off Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova 6-2, 4-6,
6-2.  Sixth-seeded Victoria Azarenka of Belarus beat Japanese
veteran Kimiko Date Krumm 6-1, 5-7, 7-5.  Elena Vesnina, who
advanced from the first round when Zvonarev