Top-seeded Russian Maria Sharapova (pictured in January) cruised into the quarter-finals of the WTA Tour event in Memphis on Wednesday, crushing American Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-1, 6-1. (AFP)

MEMPHIS, Tennessee, February 18, 2010 (AFP) – Top-seeded Russian Maria Sharapova cruised into the quarter-finals of the WTA Tour event here, crushing American Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-1, 6-1.

The Russian remained on course for a clash with second-seeded American Melanie Oudin, who beat compatriot Lilia Osterloh 6-2, 6-1.

Oudin needed just 61 minutes to win through, despite having won her opener late on Tuesday.

"I didn't have much time to recover from my first match, but my recovery was good. I got to sleep in this morning and I felt good out there today," Oudin said.

In the ATP tournament, top-seeded American Andy Roddick had a tougher time but snapped a three-match losing streak to fellow American James Blake with a 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (7/3) first-round victory.

Blake, ranked 55th, broke Roddick's serve in the 10th game of the third set to pull even at 5-5. Both then held serve to force the tiebreaker in which errors proved Blake's undoing.

Roddick, the defending champion, was the only one of the top four seeds still standing at the end of the day.

Second-seeded Spaniard Fernando Verdasco, who beat Roddick in the final at San Jose on Sunday, lost Tuesday night.

Third-seeded Czech Radek Stepanek lost a second-round clash to Latvia's Ernests Gulbis 7-6 (7/5), 7-5, while fourth-seeded German Tommy Haas, a three-time former champion here, both lost on Wednesday.

Ernests Gulbis of Latvia sent Stepanek packing 7-6 (7/5), 7-5, while Belgian Xavier Malisse beat Haas 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 in a first-round match on Wednesday.

Americans John Isner and Sam Querrey, named Wednesday to the US Davis Cup squad for the first round next month, both won.

Sixth-seeded Isner beat Finland's Jarkko Nieminen 6-7 (3/7), 6-4, 6-4 to secure his quarter-final berth, while eighth-seeded Querrey downed compatriot Rajeev Ram 6-2, 6-3 in the first round.