MANHATTAN BEACH, California -- Jennifer Capriati was forced to go the distance to reach the quarterfinals of the Los Angeles Open on Thursday as Serena Williams and Lindsay Davenport eased through with straight set victories.

Capriati was kept on court for two hours eight minutes before securing a 6-3 6-7 6-2 win over Thailand's Tamarine Tanasugarn.

By contrast, top seed Williams strolled to an easy 6-2 6-1 win over Nathalie Dechy of France, while Davenport had a minor scare in the second set against Russia's Tatiana Panova before securing a 6-2 6-4 win.

Capriati appeared to be firmly in control when she took the first set and led 3-0 in the second, but Tanasugarn refused to give up the battle.

Mixing up her shots and keeping second seeded Capriati on the move, the 16th seed also benefited from 11 double-faults from her opponent in the second set.

The Australian Open champion double-faulted three times on break point in that set, and failed to close out the match after serving for victory at 5-4 and 6-5.

The battle remained close in the final set, until Capriati claimed the last three games.

"I played great in the first set, but lately playing at night has been really bothering me," Capriati said. "Maybe I started rushing a bit (as it got dark) and got thrown off.

"I go through these phases and get tentative and can't find the right rhythm. "In the second set I just concentrated and said get it in, no matter what."

Capriati blamed the problem with playing under lights on laser eye surgery. It was fine for two years, but now she has a problem, reported Reuters.

"I have a bit of a halo and they say that sometimes after a while lights can start to become really bright," she explained.

Capriati will face doubles specialist Ai Sugiyama for a place in the semifinals after the Japanese player beat South Africa's Amanda Coetzer 6-1 7-6.