Svetlan Kuznetsova - Getty Images

Round of 16 Kicks off in Toronto

August 15, 2007 - All remaining players will be in action on Thursday as the third round of the Rogers Cup presented by American Express continues at Rexall Centre.

World No. 1 and top seed Justine Henin of Belgium highlights the day session, taking on China’s Shuai Peng on centre court.  The two women haven’t met since 2005, when Henin pulled off a tough three-set victory, and she will no doubt be looking to repeat the performance this time around.

Several other top seeds will also play their next matches during the day.  Action kicks off in the morning with No. 12 seed Tatiana Golovin taking on Italy’s Francesca Schiavone.  Golovin has breezed through her part of the draw thus far without dropping a set, while Schiavone has played two tough three-set matches, grinding out a thrilling victory in each, including upsetting No. 8 seed Elena Dementieva of Russia on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, No. 3 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia is set to play American Meghann Shaughnessy following the Henin/Peng match.  Kuznetsova has won the last four meetings between these two women, a streak she hopes to continue here in Toronto.

Another top-ranked Russian, sixth-seeded Nadia Petrova, faces No. 10 seed Patty Schnyder of Switzerland.  Despite a lower ranking, Schnyder has defeated Petrova six of the 10 times they’ve played one another, including a quarterfinal victory in San Diego two weeks ago.

Headlining the night session is world No. 3 Jelena Jankovic of Serbia, who battles Austrian Sybille Bammer for the second time in two weeks.  Bammer is playing some of the best tennis of her career in 2007 and will be a tough opponent for the Serb.

Seventh seed Marion Bartoli (France) and No. 9 seed Dinara Safina (Russia) will cap off the day of tennis with a third-round match up that promises to be thrilling as the two women are separated by only three spots in the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour rankings.

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