It was the second straight quarter-finals for the fifth-seeded Danai, who last week lost to eventual champion Lee Hyung-taik of South Korea in a Challenger in Seoul.

Yesterday's match was far easier for Danai than his first-round fight with Israeli Noam Okun, whom he beat in three tough sets.

"It was cold and very windy in the first round and Okun is a good player. But today, it appeared as if my opponent didn't like my game. After I broke him in the second set, he just gave up," said Danai, who will play ninth-seeded American Kevin Kim, who thrashed South Korean Jae Sung-an 6-0 6-2, tomorrow.

Danai leads Kim 3-2 in their head-to-head meetings. But the last time they met in Homestead, USA, Kim prevailed 6-3 6-2.

"This won't be easy because Kim is half-Korean. So, he will feel as if he is playing at home and he loves playing on the hard court," Danai said.

Meanwhile in Shenzhen, top seed Tamarine Tanasugarn suffered a leg injury which resulted in a 0-6 1-6 defeat to China's Xie Yan-ze in the first round of the $50,000 Chinese Women's Circuit yesterday. Tamarine

won the previous leg last week in Shanghai and during the course of the final match picked up an injury.