Pattaya: Japan's Misaki Doi upset China's top seed Peng Shuai 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 in the second round of the PTT Thailand Open yesterday.
Japan's Misaki Doi hits a backhand return against China's top seed Peng Shuai.
World No.21 Peng, who reached the last 16 at the Australian Open, went down to the world No.107 Japanese at the Dusit Thani.
The unfancied left-hander stunned her Chinese rival by taking the first set 6-3.
She stumbled in the second but regained her composure in the third, relying on her first serve returns to see out the match with a final 6-2 win.
Doi, who beat Thailand's Tamarine Tanasugarn in the first round, will meet Puerto Rico's Monica Puig in the quarter-finals of the WTA event.
Seventh seed Puig defeated Switzerland's Romina Oprandi 6-1, 3-6, 6-0 in the second round.
Former world No.2 Vera Zvonareva, who won back-to-back Pattaya titles in 2009 and 2010, moved into the third round with a hard fought 7-6 (8/6), 6-3 win over eight seed Zhang Shuai of China.
The 30-year-old Russian is on a comeback trail, after injury and poor form saw her drop to No.189 in the world.
Zvonareva, who entered this year as a wildcard, will meet New Zealand's Marina Erakovic or Yuliya Beygelzimer of Ukraine in the last eight.
Meanwhile, recently retired Chinese tennis star Li Na will enjoy home court advantage as she vies for sportswoman of the year when the Laureus World Sports Awards take place in China for the first time in April.
Li will go up against another tennis legend, Serena Williams, in a six-woman field, organisers said yesterday.
In Florida, more than 20 years after Jimmy Connors left the tennis tour, he's finally announcing his retirement.
Ahead of a reunion exhibition match against Aaron Krickstein on Tuesday, the 62-year-old Connors said the match would be his last in public because health issues make it difficult for him to play competitively.
Connors has undergone three hip replacements. It's been a few years since his most recent match in public.
The private exhibition against Krickstein was billed as a reunion match of their famous 1991 encounter at the US Open.
Connors rallied to win a five-setter on his 39th birthday. bangkok post/agencies