KUALA LUMPUR: World No. 9 S. Sivasangari sealed a place in the quarter-finals of the US$64,000 (RM285,000) Ace Malaysia Cup with an emphatic 11-4, 11-5, 11-9 win over Egypt's world No. 61 Nour Heikal at the Curve Mall in Petaling Jaya today.
The top seeded Kedahan, who received a first round bye, won in 23 minutes, and will face compatriot Aifa Azman in the women's quarter-finals on Friday.
Sivasangari, 26, said: "Overall I'm happy with the way I played and the way I finished the match in three games as you know these Egyptian players are all fighters and will give you a real fight.
"I really can't remember when I last played Aifa in a tournament. She's a good player but I want to focus on how I'm going to play rather than thinking of my opponent.
"There will be a lot of pressure on me and I want to put that away and focus on what I can do out there and control my game. And if I can do that then I can play my best squash," said Sivasangari.
Two-time national champion Aira Azman advanced into the quarter-finals with an 11-6, 9-11, 11-4, 11-4 win over Australian Sarah Cardwell in 31 minutes.
The world No. 32 Kedahan will next face Scotland's world No. 28 and fourth seed Georgia Adderley who beat Hong Kong's Cheng Nga Ching 11-2, 11-7, 11-6.
Sixth seed Aira said: "My game plan today was to control the match from the first set and I did that well although I lost focus in the second set before managing the next two sets."
Aira had met Adderley twice this year, and on both occasions, the former won in five sets.
Results (Malaysians unless stated)
Men's second round: Juan Camilo Vargas (Col) bt Aly Husein (Egy) 11-6, 9-11, 11-6, 11-6; Youssef Ibrahim (Egy) bt Tsz Kwan Lau (Hkg) 11-6, 11-8, 11-6.
Women's second round: Aira Azman bt Sarah Cardwell (Aus) 11-6, 9-11, 11-4, 11-4; Georgia Adderley (Sco) bt Cheng Nga Ching (Hkg) 11-2, 11-7, 11-6; S. Sivasangari bt Nour Heikal (Egy) 11-4, 11-5, 11-9; Aifa Azman bt Cristina Gomez (Spa) 11-4, 11-4, 11-4.