Pattaya City, Thailand (Sports Network) - Defending champion Daniela
Hantuchova of Slovakia and American Vania King were among the second-round
winners Thursday at the Pattaya Open.
The third-seeded Hantuchova notched a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Poland's Urszula
Radwanska and will next face the eighth-seeded King in the quarterfinals. King
eased past Russia's Alla Kudryavtseva, 6-1, 6-3.
Hantuchova has now reached the quarterfinals for the third time in four events
this year. She lost to Kaia Kanepi in the final at the season-opening Brisbane
International and was a quarterfinal loser to Petra Kvitova the following week
in Sydney before a third-round loss to Kim Clijsters at the Australian Open.
On the way to the Brisbane final, Hantuchova knocked off King in the second
round and is now 6-0 all-time against the 23-year-old Florida resident. King,
whose lone WTA title came in Thailand at the Bangkok event in 2006, last
reached a quarterfinal last September in Seoul.
India's Sania Mirza, the 2009 Pattaya Open runner-up, also moved into the
quarters with a 6-4, 7-5 triumph over Britain's Anne Keothavong and will next
take on Taiwanese qualifier Su-Wei Hsieh, who knocked off Japanese veteran
Kimiko Date-Krumm, 7-5, 6-0.
Friday's other quarterfinal matchups will pit top-seeded Vera Zvonareva, the
Pattaya champ in 2009 and 2010, against seventh-seeded Sorana Cirstea and
fourth-seeded Russian Maria Kirilenko against crowd favorite Tamarine
Tanasugarn of Thailand, the Pattaya runner-up in 1996 and last year.
The 2012 champion will collect $37,000.
The Sports Network