Sixth-seeded Meghan Shaughnessy of the United States and teen prodigy Vania King sailed into the semi-finals while intermittent rain affected play in two other quarter-finals of the US$200,000 (Bt8million) PTT Bangkok Open yesterday.

While the Americans of two different generations completed their matches in the afternoon, Tamarine Tanasugarn had yet to start her match against Austrian Sybille Bammer at press time.

It was a big disappointment for the 1,000-strong Thai fans, the biggest crowd so far this week, who showed up at the Rama Gardens Hotel with the hope of rooting for their heroine.

Meanwhile, ninth-seeded Severine Bremond of France defeated fifth-seeded Eleni Daniilidou of Greece 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 with the match ending at 10.25pm local time.

It was a cruel end for Daniilidou, who was chasing her second title this year after winning in Seoul. She had beaten the Frenchwoman 6-4 6-1 in the quarter-finals last year in Portoroz.

Shaughnessy snapped the run of Japanese Aiko Nakamura, a finalist in Tokyo last week, with a 6-2 6-4 win, while King demolished doubles partner and eighth-seeded Jelena Kostanic of Croatia 6-1 6-1.

Shaughnessy never seemed to be in much trouble with the double-fisted ground strokes of the Japanese as she ended up winning points most of the time in long rallies.

"She has been playing well and reached the final in Tokyo last week. She read the balls well and hit flat balls both sides. I just tried to dictate points with my serves,'' said the 43rd-ranked Shaughnessy, who faces the 17-year-old King for the first time.

"I haven't seen any of her matches this week. But she won like 6-1 6-1 two days in a row, she must have done everything right,'' said the sixth-seed, who loves phad thai so much she has ordered it five times already this week.

King has so far been the most impressive player in the tournament, earning the semi-final spot while dropping just 10 games. Her superior and unrelenting ground strokes were just too much for Kostanic as she never allowed her rival to settle down in the match.

"I didn't go out there expecting to win easily. I have been lucky, as my opponents so far haven't been on top of their games. But I have been playing well and serving really well, which is the key,'' added King, who has been playing doubles with Kostanic for three weeks in a row, reaching the final in Guangzhou and winning in Tokyo.

"It's a bit tougher to play someone close. But if I were in her shoes, I would feel insulted if I didn't try my best. I just went out there and competed like I normally do. And things worked out,'' said King, who reached her second semi-final after entering the last four in Bangalore earlier this year.

 "Meghan's been very highly ranked previously. She's had a pretty good year. I'm going out there and trying my best,'' said the world No 80.

Vaidisova packs off Mauresmo

nWorld No 1 and top seed Amelie Mauresmo was sent crashing out of the Kremlin Cup yesterday as the tournament also lost Russian golden girl Maria Sharapova through injury.

Czech Nicole Vaidisova, the eighth seed, battled from a set down to beat Mauresmo, the Australian Open and Wimbledon champion, 1-6 7-5 7-6 (7/3).

"It was a good match from both of us," said 17-year-old Vaidisova.

"I definitely started very badly and was a game away from losing in the middle of the match.

"I had to start playing better or lose. I just played better at the end and I'm happy about that."

Second seed Sharapova also exited the tournament when she was forced to pull out because of a right hip injury.

The 19-year-old Sharapova, currently third in the WTA rankings, who enjoyed a first round bye in Moscow, said she felt pain in her right hip after Wednesday's second round match with a compatriot Ekaterina Bychkova, which Sharapova won 6-4 7-5. "I felt pain in my right hip after my first match here," this year's US Open champion said.

"I couldn't practice or even walk yesterday."

"I have to pull out. I'm really disappointed but I have no choice."

Russia's Anna Chakvetadze earned a place in the semi-finals as a result.

Mauresmo had been on course for a semi-final spot in her clash with Vaidisova after taking the first set.

The 27-year-old Frenchwoman produced three breaks in the opening set to take the opener in 21 minutes.

In the second set the Czech teenager, ranked 11th in the world, earned a 2-0 lead but Mauresmo moved up a gear to take five consecutive games.

However, Vaidisova refused to surrender, also winning five games in a row and the set in 52 minutes to stay in the match.

In the decider, Vaidisova jumped to a 3-1 lead with an early break but the world No 1 broke back to level at four games all.

Vaidisova survived a match point in the 12th game, forcing a tiebreak, which she won 7/3.

She will now face fifth seed Nadia Petrova of Russia, who ousted compatriot Vera Zvonareva 7-5 6-1. "There are no excuses for why I lost," said Mauresmo.

"The thing about playing tie-breaks it's all about taking your opportunities. I did that yesterday but not today. It's also important to be physically fresh at the end of the match, but that wasn't the case."

In the men's section of the event, top seed Nicolay Davydenko of Russia gained a place in the semis with a straight-sets 6-3 7-5 win over Belarus big server Max Mirnyi.

In the last four, Davydenko will face seventh seed Fabrice Santoro of France, who battled through a tight quarter-final with Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3 7-5.

Lerpong Amsa-ngiam

The Nation