Russian on the move at Rogers Cup

In the Quarterfinal Kerber will play Russian teenager Daria Kasatkina, who had beaten 2011 US Open champion Samantha Stosur in the previous round and now defeated last year’s US Open finalist Roberta Vinci 7-5, 6-3 to reach the last 8.

Kerber looks to reach her fifth final appearance this season and won five of her last seven semifinals appearances overall.

The gritty Kucova, who upset eighth seeded Carla Suarez-Navarro in the second round, advanced to a quarter-final Friday night against 15th seeded Johanna Konta of Britain.

Not a big hitter herself, Halep made up for it by landing 72 per cent of her first serves.

Eugenie Bouchard also bowed out in the third round, as Kristina Kucova proved too good in their match that lasted over two hours, winning 3-6 6-4 6-3.

Johanna Konta knocked out Varvara Lepchenko after her 6-3 6-2 triumph, while Kuznetsova was a 7-6 (7-2) 6-3 victor over 12th seed Kvitova.

It took Keys just 20 minutes to take the first set against Williams in their third-round clash as she answered everything her more-fancied opponent could muster with consummate ease. “All I can say is that I’m very happy I could win against her, because we always have tough matches”.

I think Halep is the better player between these two and she has what it takes to get the victory given her current form.

“I was a little bit nervous at the beginning of the match and I didn’t really feel the ball”.

The ninth-seeded Kuznetsova’s frustration was evident on centre court when, after dominating the opening set, Halep turned the tables in the second.

Halep seized control for good with an early break in the third to keep alive her hopes improving on her runner-up finish in Canada previous year – when she retired from the final against Belinda Bencic with an illness. She lost in the first round five times and won one match this time, but in 2014 she reached the final, losing to Radwanska.