Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova and reigning Rome titlist Amelie Mauresmo were among Thursday's third-round winners at the $1.3 million Italian Masters. The top-seeded Sharapova got past two-time Grand Slam champion Mary Pierce 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 in two hours in the Day-4 nightcap at Foro Italico. Pierce won this event in 1997 and was the runner-up in 1999. Sharapova could supplant American Lindsay Davenport atop the WTA Tour rankings with a title this week. The 18-year-old Sharapova will face fellow Russian Elena Bovina in Friday's quarterfinals. The second-seeded Mauresmo, seeking her fifth trip to the final here in six years, handled 13th-seeded Italian veteran Silvia Farina Elia 6-4, 6-3. Mauresmo beat American Jennifer Capriati in last year's Rome final and was the runner-up here in 2000, 2001 and 2003. Up next for the French Mauresmo is four-time Italian Masters champion Conchita Martinez, who advanced without even lifting her racquet on Thursday. Martinez was scheduled to meet seventh-seeded Nadia Petrova, but the Russian pulled out with a right thigh injury, giving the 1994 Wimbledon champion Martinez a walkover into the round of eight. Martinez captured this tournament from 1993-96 and lost to Pierce in the 1997 final. Three other seeds advanced, as No. 6 Russian Vera Zvonareva held off Colombian Catalina Castano 6-1, 5-7, 6-2; No. 8 Swiss Patty Schnyder shut down Serbian Ana Ivanovic 6-3, 6-2; and the No. 9 Bovina overcame Argentine Paola Suarez 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5). In other third-round play, Italian Francesca Schiavone toppled 15th-seeded Japanese Ai Sugiyama 6-3, 7-5 and Russian Evgenia Linetskaya came back to beat Argentine Gisela Dulko 5-7, 6-4, 6-4. Schiavone ousted Australian Open champion Serena Williams in straight sets here on Wednesday. Friday's other quarters will pit Zvonareva against Schiavone and Schnyder versus Linetskaya. The 2005 Rome titlist will collect $189,000.