Taiwan's Chan Yung-jan beat Poland's Urszula Radwanska 6-2, 6-3 in the quarter-finals of the Bangkok Open yesterday.
Radwanska, 16, is the reigning Wimbedon girls singles champion
The Taiwanese No.1, ranked 97 in the world, is seeking her first WTA tour singles title after having won four doubles tournaments.
Chan will play China's Yan Zi in the semi-finals after Yan was given a walkover when defending champion Vania King of the US pulled out with a back injury.
Surprise package Yan knocked out world number three Jelena Jankovic of Serbia in the first round and Russian Olga Poutchkova in the second.
Six-time Grand Slam winner Venus Williams cruised into the semi-finals with a straight-sets victory over France's Camille Pin.
Williams, making her sixth straight quarter-final appearance, defeated the Frenchwoman 6-1, 6-1 in little more than an hour.
She will square off with the tournament's seventh-seed Flavia Pennetta of Italy, who came back from a set down to end the hopes of third-seeded Israeli Shahar Peer 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.
Williams, the world number eight, has previously made short work of her upcoming semi-final opponent, beating her 6-2, 6-2 in their only meeting two weeks ago at the Korea Open in Seoul.
Despite breezing through in straight sets for a third successive match, Williams said her wins were not easy.
"It's hard to keep my concentration and not miss the easy ones," said Williams, who had three double faults and managed to botch a number of simple returns during the 68-minute contest.
"I know I have to be patient but that's not easy because it's my nature to be fast, powerful and aggressive," she told reporters.
"What can I say about her, she's a great player, a champion," Pennetta said. "It's going to be a tough match."
A defeat looked on the cards for the Italian during the first set but Pennetta clawed back from a set down to qualify for the semi-finals for her third successive tournament.
The Italian took control of the decider as the Israeli imploded, committing countless errors to go five games behind.
Peer, buoyed up by a few dozen vociferous compatriots in the crowd, had dictated the play in the opening set with some powerful serves and solid backcourt returns.
Pennetta said her match turned around only because she sought treatment for painful blisters on her foot.
"After that, I started to feel better and served much better," she told reporters.
"I was nervous beforehand. She is a good player, she's so confident and I knew it was going to be tough," Pennetta said.
The Italian will have her hands full with the reigning Wimbledon champion, who has yet to surrender a set in Thailand.
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