Tennis: Error-prone Kuznetsova sees off Peng

TOP seed Svetlana Kuznetsova overcame an error-ridden performance to beat China's Peng Shuai 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 to advance to the third round of the Sony Ericsson Open on a clear and cool day in Key Biscayne, Florida.

The 24-year-old Russian, who won the title in Miami in 2006, has not advanced out of the round of 16 in any tournament she has played this season. She made 43 unforced errors before beating Peng in one hour, 51 minutes.

"I'm not thrilled because I was getting mad with myself and I was fighting with myself," said Kuznetsova, who finished with seven aces and won 38 of 54 first serve points. "I felt the ball very well and I felt my game, but I was up and down."

Third seed Venus Williams joined Kuznetsova in the third round after a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Romania's Sorana Cirstea in the night match, while former world No1 Ana Ivanovic continued her quest to get back to the top by advancing with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Pauline Parmentier of France in an earlier match.