The power-hitter found herself trailing the third seed 3-5 in both sets, before tapping her vast reservoir of strength to turn the tide and advance 6-4 7-6 (7-4) to the final four.

"I play better when I'm down. It's a trait I developed when I was young. I tried going for big shots,'' said Mirza, who ripped two successive winners to close out the encounter.

A small contingent of Indian supporters turned out to watch the 20-year-old, who enjoys superstar status in India.

Mesmerised by the Italian's unorthodox style, the Indian, ranked 11 places below her, said it had taken her a while to settle down.

"I don't think I have ever played anyone like her. She hit a lot of under-spin. I had to find my rhythm,'' added Mirza, India's most successful female tennis player.

Mirza, who is known for her intimidating forehand, next lines up against Argentine sixth-seed Gisela Dulko, who beat her 6-3 6-3 at Roland Garros in 2005.

"She is like a ball machine. I have to be consistent and put the balls back,'' said Mirza, who is making her second semi-final appearance this season. The first was in Hobart.

Despite suffering from a cold, China's fourth-seeded Peng Shuai put on a splendid performance to halt the surprise run of Israeli qualifier Tzipora Obziler 6-3 6-2.

"I wasn't 100 per cent healthy. I caught a cold and was coughing. I had to keep my body warm and couldn't drink cold water,'' said the Hunan-born player, who had to retire from the doubles first round because of illness.

Shuai, who hits the balls double-handed on both forehand and backhand, now has an unblemished 3-0 record over the 33-year-old Obziler. The last occasions she got the better of her were in Sydney and Guangzhou in 2005.

"I just played my game. I hit the balls hard and tried to make her run,'' added the Chinese, whose semi-final berth in Pattaya is her best showing in the Kingdom.

It was a bad day for veterans as Australia's Nicole Pratt, 33, was shown the exit by Dulko 2-6 3-6. The Argentine's top-spins proved a puzzle for Pratt as she committed a string of unforced errors throughout the match. It was a different Pratt from the one seen in the two previous rounds.

In the marathon fight between tennis mom Sybille Bammer of Austria and Slovak Martina Sucha, which lasted almost three hours, the Austrian won 3-6 6-3 6-3 to reach her second straight semi-final in Pattaya. Bammer, ranked No 61 in the world, should be doubly happy as she put an end to her five-match losing streak against the Slovak. "It was a very long match. I am so happy because I'd lost to her five times, four times in two sets," said Bammer.

In a doubles semi-final, Taiwan's Australian Open finalists Chuang Chia-jung and Chan Yung-jan, who beat Tamarine Tanasugarn and Ukrainian Kateryna Bondarenko 7-5 4-6 10-7 on Thursday night, defeated China's Ji Chun-mei and Sun Tian-tian, 6-2 7-6 (7-5).

Lerpong Amsa-ngiam

The Nation

PATTAYA