Tamarine Tanasugarn after hitting a ball wide during her match with Jamea Jackson of the United States.

Tamarine Tanasugarn reached her second quarter-final of the year without breaking much sweat when an ailing Jamea Jackson of the United States retired with an injury in their second-round match in the US$200,000 PTT Bangkok Open yesterday.

On a bright day when most of the matches were over in quick fashion, Tamarine hurled down a series of winners at her African-American opponent, who barely posed a challenge due to a strain to her right groin.

After 45 minutes, which included off-court treatment, Jackson, who had never lost to the Thai in their two previous matches, had no other choice but to walk to the net and shake hands with Tamarine, who won 6-1 2-0 before many of the fans had even started arriving at the Rama Gardens courts.

Though not an ideal way to finish off a match, Tamarine, whose other quarter-final in 2006 came in Calcutta last month, has presented her legion of fans with another opportunity to bay for her. "I was lucky but she was not. She is a very tough player in the physical sense. Who would have thought the match would end up this way?'' said Tamarine, who climbs back into the top 100 for the first time this year, at 97.

The Thai will play tennis mum Sybille Bammer, who upset third-seeded Nathalie Dechy of France 6-4 6-4. Tamarine has never played the Austrian, who has a five-year-old daughter, but is anticipating a daunting assignment.

"She can play good defence and attack at the same time. She is very consistent and is left-handed. I have to serve well like I did today and be really focused on my game," she said.

The Thai wants to make sure she stays in the top 100 and gets to play in the 2007 Australian Open main draw.

"I need to have good results here so I don't have to worry much about the points I have to defend in China. It will mean a lot to me if many fans come and support me tomorrow,'' said the Thai, who promised she would perform a wai on court if she wins her match, scheduled at around 7pm today.

Although she is from Europe, Bammer, ranked 53, cannot be underestimated under the Bangkok heat. She can adjust to the humidity here and the proof of that was a semi-final berth in Pattaya earlier this year.

 "She [Tamarine] is obviously popular here and I look forward to playing the match. I watched her play today but just a little bit because the match was over so quickly,'' the Austrian said.

Two Americans marched into the quarter-finals when 17-year-old Vania King knocked out fourth-seeded Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic 6-1 6-1 and sixth-seeded Meghan Shaughnessy dispatched Julia Schruff of Germany 6-3 6-1.

With the stunning victory over the 39th-ranked Safarova, King reached her second quarter-final on the tour. She made the semi-finals in Bangalore this year.

"I have always done well in Thailand. I love coming to Asia because my family comes from Taiwan," said King, who lifted the ITF junior group I trophy in Suphan Buri last year.

The California-based King lines up a showdown with her doubles partner Jelena Kostanic of Croatia, a 6-1 6-0 winner over Marta Domachowska of Poland.

"I have never played her before but we talk a lot on how to play others. We have different games, so I think it will be an interesting match,'' King said.

Up-and-coming Aiko Nakamura of Japan ended the 14-year-long career of Mariana Diaz-Oliva by beating her 6-4 6-3. The Argentine, who has played her last tournament, plans to settle down with her family in December.

Though the tournament lost its top four seeds, numbers 5, 8 and 9 hung in there. Fifth-seeded Eleni Daniilidou of Greece eliminated Japanese Erika Takao 6-4 6-4.

Ninth-seed Severine Bremond of France, a surprise quarter-finalist at this year's Wimbledon, recovered from a set down to beat Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic 5-7 6-3 6-3. Eighth-seeded Jelena Kostanic of Croatia vanquished Marta Domachowska of Poland 6-1 6-0.

Petrova into quarter-finals

nIn Moscow, fifth-seeded Nadia Petrova came from behind in both sets to beat Elena Likhovtseva 6-3, 7-5 and advance to the quarter-finals at the Kremlin Cup yesterday.

Petrova trailed 3-1 in the first set and 5-2 in the second, but won five consecutive games in each to advance to the quarter-finals.

"She started very aggressively, while I had a kind of energy collapse and lost my concentration," the fifth-ranked Petrova said.

Eighth-seeded Nicole Vaidisova of the Czech Republic defeated Samantha Stosur of Australia 6-4 6-1, while Russian teenager Anna Chakvetadze downed Francesca Schiavone of Italy 7-6 (3) 6-4.

On Wednesday, home favourite Maria Sharapova also breezed into the quarter-finals with a straight-sets win over compatriot Ekaterina Bychkova.

Sharapova, ranked third in the world and second here, won 6-4 7-5 in one hour 46 minutes in her first ever match against 21-year-old Bychkova.

US Open winner Sharapova, 19, who enjoyed a first round bye here, broke her rival's serve halfway into the opening set to gain a minimum advantage, which she kept through to lift herself one set up in 49 minutes.

Sharapova, seeking a fourth title of the season (and her 14th career one), started the second sey with an immediate break but unheralded qualifier Bychkova, 94th in the WTA rankings, refused to surrender and broke back twice to a 5-3 lead.

She served for the set but Sharapova tightened her play and took four consecutive games to win the set and the match.

"I got a little bit floppy in the middle of the second set," Sharapova said after the match. "I had a bye, while she has already played four matches here.

"I don't think I've started badly after not playing for four weeks."

Russia's Vera Zvonareva, 22, produced an upset as she saw off compatriot and the third seed of the tournament Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-1 6-3 in 62 minutes.

Lerpong Amsa-ngiam

The Nation