Kirilenko kills off Thai hopes in Pattaya

Tammy bows out in quarter-final

An error-prone Tamarine Tanasugarn blew away a 5-3 lead in the first set to lose to fourth-seeded Maria Kirilenko of Russia 7-6 (7-2) 6-1 yesterday, ending Thai hopes at the US$220,000 PTT Pattaya Open.

Kirilenko was put under pressure by the powerful baseline game of Thailand's No 1 early in the match and looked to be headed for a shock first-set defeat. But the Russian muscled her way back into the match as Tammy began to show signs of tiredness.

After losing an epic battle for the first set, the Thai capitulated in the second, as heat and exhaustion finally caught up her.

Meanwhile, seventh seed Sorana Cirstea of Romania surprisingly advanced over two-time champion and top seed Vera Zvonareva of Russia after the latter was forced to retire with a hip injury yesterday.

The Romanian shook hands with the former winner at 2-6 6-4 2-2 in the shock of the day at the Dusit Thani Hotel Pattaya.

The world No 8 has never exited Pattaya before the semi-final in the past four years, going on to win the title in 2009 and 2010. Cirstea, 21, was surprised to find herself through to her first WTA semi-final since Estoril in May 2010.

"I didn't notice that she was injured and was surprised she retired. I hope she recovers soon,'' said Cirstea, who was pleased with the adjustments she made to her game plan on her Pattaya debut.

"I'm happy to be back in a semi-final again. Last year I went to the US after Australia but it didn't work so I decided to try something different. I've always heard good reviews about this tournament, which is one of the best on the tour,'' said the friendly Romanian, who will next take on Kirilenko.

Qualifier Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan won through to her first WTA semi-final in more than a decade after she upset long-time rival Sania Mirza of India 7-5 6-3 in the quarter-finals yesterday.

The 26-year-old Taiwanese, who gets much of her coaching by Paul McNamee via text messages, came back from 3-5 down in the first set, using her unorthodox two-handed groundstrokes and slices to force errors from the Indian for a win in one hour and 19 minutes.

"It is my secret weapon," the 159th ranked Taiwanese said of her peculiar double-fisted slices. This is her second WTA semi-final, having previously appeared in the last four in Bali in 2001 when she was 15.

Hsieh stopped playing singles for a few years due to family problems, fear of injury and new WTA rules she didn't agree with. It was McNamee who convinced her to give it another try.

"As he cannot travel with me much, he tells me what to do by text. However, I'm just starting my comeback and it's still tough for me physically and mentally,'' added the eight-time WTA doubles winner.

Waiting for her in today's semi-final will be the winner between defending champion Daniela Hantuchova of the Slovak Republic and American Vania King.