King reaches Pattaya quarters
Eighth-seeded Vania King advanced to the quarterfinals of the Pattaya Open in Thailand by beating Alla Kudryavtseva of Russia 6-1, 6-3 on Thursday.
The American played well from the baseline to beat her friend and reach the quarterfinals for the first time since last September in Seoul.
"I didn't play many international events after Seoul," King said. "I spent most of my offseason trying to recover fully and try not to get injuries which was something I was struggling in the past few years."
King will next play defending champion Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia, who beat Urszula Radwanska of Poland 6-3, 6-2 in a match that was briefly suspended by light rain before the end of the first set.
Sania Mirza also advanced to the quarterfinals by beating Anne Keothavong of Britain 6-4, 7-5. Mirza, who lost the 2009 final to Vera Zvonareva, will play Taiwanese qualifier Hsieh Su-wei, who defeated Japanese veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm 7-5, 6-0.