American pair Venus Williams and Jennifer Capriati stormed into the quarter-finals of the $750,000 Acura Classic on Thursday.

Number one seed Williams crushed Luxembourg's Anne Kremer 6-3 6-2 to set-up a rematch of last week's Bank of the West Classic final against fifth-seeded Belgian Kim Clijsters.

Williams picked up her sixth successive win by overpowering Kremer.

"I served a lot better than yesterday and returned very well," said the American.

Clijsters put out Magdalena Maleeva of Bulgaria 6-3 6-3 to earn a clash with Williams.

Second seed Capriati outplayed fellow countrywoman Meghann Shaughnessy 6-4 6-1 and will now face sixth seed Jelena Dokic of Yugoslavia in the last eight.

The 26-year-old was lethal against Shaughnessy, serving efficiently and out-running her hard-hitting opponent.

"I played really well," said Capriati, who has not won a title since claiming her second Australian Open crown in January.

"Meghann's a good competitor so I had to be really focused."

Patient attacks

Anna Kournikova also continued to make progress, overcoming Spain's Conchita Martinez 1-6 6-2 6-1.

Kournikova, 21, wore down the 30-year-old Martinez, who had played two long three-setters to reach the third round.

"She wasn't making many mistakes," said the Spaniard. "She was patient and fighting a lot, which she didn't always do in the past."

Kournikova said: "Conchita is really smart and uses the court well. I haven't played well against her in the past. I had to be patient and attack at the right time."

The unseeded Russian now meets 12th seed Anna Smashnova of Israel, who she beat in the first round of the Bank of the West event.

Third round results: