Marina Erakovic has advanced to the doubles quarter-finals at the French Open after a third round victory with partner Cara Black.
The duo beat Australian Sam Stosur and Italy's Francesca Schiavone 6-4, 7-5.
The defeat was Schiavone's second of the day after the 2010 singles champion lost in the third round to Victoria Azarenka 6-3, 6-0. Stosur was also knocked out of the singles yesterday.
Erakovic and Black will next face second seeds Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka of the Czech Republic for a spot in the semi-finals.
The Kiwi and the Zimbabwean have proven a formidable partnership in recent months after reaching back-to-backs finals leading up to Roland Garros. They made both the Madrid Open and Internationaux de Strasbourg finals last month, the first time since 2008 that Erakovic reached a doubles final on clay.
Erakovic's best performance at a Grand Slam is reaching the Wimbledon semi-finals with Thailand's Tamarine Tanasugarn in 2011.
She also reached the US Open quarter-finals with Jelena Kostanic Tosic in 2008.
Black has won Grand Slam doubles titles at every major except the French Open. She reached the final in 2005.
- nzherald.co.nz