Fifth-seeded Peng Shuai of China became the first player to reach the quarterfinals of the WTA's Pattaya Open with a 7-6 (4), 6-0 second round victory over Galina Voskoboeva of Kazakhstan Wednesday.
Peng, ranked No. 35, took some time to come to grips with her opponent's game but found momentum in the latter part of the match, advancing to the last eight for the second time in this event at the Thai beach city.
"I've never played her so the first set was a bit tough for me," said Peng, who reached the Pattaya semifinals in 2007. "After 6-6 I fought hard to win the tie-break and in the second set I knew her game and hit harder."
Coached by Tarik Benhabiles, a former coach of Andy Roddick, Peng will likely meet top seed and world No. 5 Vera Zvonareva of Russia in the quarterfinals. Zvonareva was to play Kazakhstan's Yaroslava Shvedova in the second round.
In the first round, eighth-seeded Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia survived a tough challenge from 38-year-old Kimiko Date Krumm of Japan to emerge with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 win after two hours, 13 minutes.
(Agencies via Shanghai Daily Feburary 12, 2009)
