Taipei, Nov. 3 (CNA) Taiwan's Chang Kai-chen beat compatriot Hsieh Su-wei, and top seed Jarmila Groth of Australia fended off Ukraine's Yuliya Beygelzimer on Wednesday to reach the 2010 OEC Taipei Ladies' Open singles quarterfinals.
Chang, ranked No. 112 in the world, had a hard-fought victory over Hsieh 6-2, 6-7 (7-2), 6-4 at the Taipei Arena. She beat another Taiwanese player, Chuang Chia-jung, in straight sets in the first round.
The 19-year-old will next face world No. 43 Groth. The Australian is the tournament's top-ranked player and beat Beygelzimer 6-4, 6-4 Wednesday in the second round. Groth won the tournament in its first year in 2008.
Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand, ranked No. 62 in the world, beat Kumiko Iijima of Japan 6-1, 6-1, and Japan's Junri Namigata beat Elena Bogdan of Romania 6-3, 6-7 (9-7), 6-3 to advance.
In the doubles competition, the Groth/Tanasugarn combo and the Chinese pair Peng Shuai/Yan Zi both secured quarterfinal berths Monday by winning in the first round.
The total purse for the International Tennis Federation (ITF) event is US$100,000, according to the Chinese Taipei Tennis Association, which is organizing the tournament.
ITF tournaments are a tier below WTA events, which have minimum purses of US$220,000 and attract higher ranked players.
Defending singles champion Chan Yung-jan, who was Taiwan's highest-ranked player at world No. 81, withdrew from the tournament last week due to pneumonia. (By Chris Wang) Enditem/MH