Caroline Wozniacki is just one match away from becoming the first Danish woman to top the women's world rankings.
Wozniacki beat Italy's Sara Errani 6-4, 6-2 in the second round and faces Petra Kvitova, of the Czech Republic, today.
A win in the next round will mean she will topple Serena Williams at the top of the WTA rankings. But the 20-year-old - who has yet to win a grand slam in her career - refused to get distracted by the ranking issue after she overcame a hapless Errani with a barrage of powerful baseline shots.
"I don't think about it. I don't know how many matches I have to win to become No 1," Wozniacki said.
"Tomorrow is just another match, and hopefully I can win it and pull through."
Women's second seed Vera Zvonareva booked her place in the last eight after downing fellow Russian Maria Kirilenko 5-7, 6-4, 6-2.
"My shot choices are not as good as I wanted them to be at the moment so I'm making a too many unforced errors, especially in the first set," said Zvonareva, the runner-up at Wimbledon and the US Open this year.
In the men's competition, Novak Djokovic, the defending champion, reached the last eight without having to hit a ball after Mardy Fish, the American player, pulled out with an ankle injury just hours before the match.
"Mardy damaged his left ankle during his first round game and went to hospital for a scan. But it's not fractured as first feared," an ATP official told reporters.
Nikolay Davydenko, the men's fourth seed struggled to tame Marin Cilic, the towering Croatian, eventually winning 7-5, 7-5.
The Russian will next play John Isner for a place in the last eight.
The American got the better of his German opponent Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-6, 3-6, 6-3 in their third round clash.
* Reuters
