Third seed Amanda Coetzer passed a stern test against American Sarah Taylor on Wednesday, moving through to the quarterfinals with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 victory.

The South African struggled to find her game in the early stages of the match before her experience began to show against Taylor.

"I tried to take some momentum from my first match [against Angelika Roesch] but I didn't start very well and I'm still getting used to the conditions," said Coetzer. "I made a few errors in the first set that I shouldn't have made, she was playing well and it was competitive.

"In the second set, I made fewer mistakes and I was more aggressive, which worked. It's very nice to still be in the tournament."

Two seeds who didn't make it through to the second round were No. 4 Alexandra Stevenson, last year's finalist who went down 7-6(1), 6-3 to Japan's Saori Obata, and No. 5 seed Vera Zvonareva, who lost to Korea's Yoon Jeong Cho in straight sets.

Obata, speaking through her translator, said she was enjoying life in Memphis. "Barbecue," she said with a smile, the one word she knew.

Debut

Wild card Carly Gullickson continued her impressive WTA debut with a 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 victory over Russia's Maria Goloviznina.

Gullickson, the 16-year-old from Nashville, took control of the third set from the first game, breaking to love before opening up a 4-0 lead. She now goes on to meet defending champion Lisa Raymon in the quarterfinals.

"I've never played anyone ranked that high before," said Gullickson, who won the USTA Girls Super National Clay COurt Championships in Memphis in 2001. "I'm just going to try my best and enjoy it. I think my whole family will be here tomorrow."