Reigning Guangzhou Open champion Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan failed to make the quarter-finals at this year’s event, crashing out yesterday to her unseeded opponent.
Sixth-seeded Hsieh lost her second-round match against China’s Zhang Shuai 6-2, 6-2 in little over 1 hour, 15 minutes.
Hsieh’s disappointing exit follows a golden year for the world No. 42, who was crowned women’s doubles Wimbledon champion earlier this year.
She remains in the doubles competition in Guangzhou, where she is the top seed with her partner, China’s Peng Shuai.
Meanwhile, France’s Alize Cornet beat Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic in her second-round match after an early scare.
The number two seed was taken to a tie-break in the first set, but won it 7/4 before dominating the second set and taking it to love.
Cornet will play Yvonne Meusburger next following the Austrian’s 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 victory over Serbia’s Vesna Dolonc.
Also through to the quarter-finals are China’s Zheng Jie, who claimed victory over Hungary’s Timea Babos 7-5, 7-6 (7/1), and Vania King of the US, who won her clash with Serbia’s Bojana Jovanovski 6-4, 0-6, 6-4.
Eighth seed Monica Puig overcame Galina Voskoboeva of Kazakhstan 6-3, 6-2.
British No. 1 Laura Robson and her compatriot Johanna Konta were in action in the evening session last night.
Both were to face Chinese opposition, with Robson meeting Zheng Saisai and Konta playing Peng Shuai for a place in the quarter-finals.
KOREA OPEN
AP, SEOUL, South Korea
Already a two-time winner this year, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia reached the Korea Open quarter-finals by beating wild-card Lee Ye-ra of South Korea 6-4, 6-1 yesterday.
Pavlyuchenkova, who won her fourth and fifth career titles in April in Monterrey and Estoril, will line up against Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania, who defeated sixth-seeded Julia Goerges of Germany 6-4, 6-0.
The eighth-seeded Annika Beck of Germany also fell, to Vera Dushevina of Russia 6-3, 7-5.
Also through were Lara Arruabarrena of Spain, into her first quarter-finals since February, and Francesca Schiavone of Italy, who last made the last eight on Birmingham grass in June.
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