Hantuchova advances in Pattaya

Pattaya City - Two-time champion Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia beat Zheng Saisai of China 7-6 (5) 6-2 on Thursday to reach the quarter-finals at the Thailand Open.

The 31-year-old recovered from going down 2-0 in the first set to win in 1 hour and 36 minutes and reach her first quarter-final since Morocco in April last year.

Hantuchova was broken when serving the first set at 5-4 and then double-faulted on her first set point in the tiebreaker but converted the second.

Zheng struggled with unforced errors in the second set and was hampered by an apparent thigh injury.

Hantuchova will next play Duan Ying-ying of China, who advanced when countrywoman Lin Zhu retired with an injury after losing the first set 6-1.

In other second-round matches, Evgeniya Rodina of Russia upset fourth-seeded Kurumi Nara of Japan 6-2, 6-4.

She will play Ajla Tomljanovic of Croatia, who beat sixth-seeded Jarmila Gajdosova of Australia 7-6 (3) 6-3.