Dubai: The world's top-ranked pairing and defending champions Cara Black and Liezel Huber eased past the Chinese duo of Shuai Peng and Tiantian Sun 6-3, 6-3 to enter the doubles quarterfinals.
Black and Huber, winners here last year with a 7-6 (6), 6-4 win against Svetlana Kuznetsova and Alicia Molik, were in total control as they started their title defence in style.
They will now meet the pairing of Sania Mirza and Francesca Schiavone in the quarterfinals after the Indo-Italian duo beat wild card entrants Kuznetsova and Amelie Mauresmo in straight sets 6-4, 6-4.
Fourth seeds Yung-Jan Chan and Chia-Jung Chuang of Chinese Taipei and the unseeded duo of Vladimira Uhlirova and Galina Voskoboeva secured contrasting wins to also advance to the last eight.
Chan and Chuang won 6-3, 6-3 against Tatiana Poutchek and Anastasia Rodionova, while Uhlirova and Voskoboeva fought their way to a tight 6-3, 3-6, 11-9 win over wildcards Stephanie Foretz and Selima Sfar.
Second seeds Katerina Srebotnik and Ai Sugiyama had already booked their place in the quarters at the lower end of the draw with a 6-2, 4-6, 10-6 win over Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual on the first day.
