Flavia Pennetta hit out at Anastasia Rodionova after beating the unseeded Russian to advance to the quarter-finals of the Commonwealth Bank Tennis Classic.

Pennetta, the third-seeded Italian, claimed a 6-3 7-5 over Rodionova, who squandered a 5-2 second-set lead while suffering from what appeared to be heat-related illness, for which she called for the trainer twice in the second set.

"For me, if you are like this on the court it is better that you go," Pennetta said. "If you have any problem and you cannot play, you cannot play. That's it. You go."

She added: "I was also very tired in the beginning of the second set. We made one unbelievable rally in the first game and I couldn't breathe and I was tired.

"But I didn't stop the match. A match like this is not good for the public. The last three or four games were very bad to watch, so if you have to play like this it's better you don't play."

Pennetta appeared to be moving toward an all-Italian quarter-final clash with Sara Errani, but her seventh-seeded compatriot was upset 6-0 7-6 (7/2) by Austria's Tamira Paszek in the second round.

Now instead of dealing with her 41st-ranked countrywoman, Pennetta simply needs to get past the world number 85 to book a place in the semi-finals.

The 16th-ranked Pennetta should not take anything for granted against her 17-year-old opponent, however, as she she needed to rally for a 2-6 6-1 6-4 triumph when the players met for the first time this July in Los Angeles.

Pennetta, 26, is one of three top-20 players at this event along with top-seeded Daniela Hantuchova and number two Patty Schnyder, who advanced to the round of eight Wednesday.

The runner-up to Lindsay Davenport here last season, Hantuchova is a potential semi-final opponent for Pennetta.