HONG KONG, Dec 19: Thai number one Paradorn Srichaphan squeezed past Taiwan’s Cheng Wei-jen 6-4, 6-4 to take his place in the quarter-finals of the $60,000 Asian Championships here Wednesday.
The 22-year-old battled hardest in an untidy contest littered with unforced errors as both players struggled to adjust to chilly conditions.
Korean top seed and title favourite Lee Hyung-taik joined him in the quarter-final with an impressive 6-3, 6-1 victory over awkward Chinese left-hander Wang Yu.
Both players are eyeing the $4,000 first prize and a wildcard into January’s Australian Open — on offer to the men and women’s singles champion.
In the women’s singles, the top seeded Wynne Prakusya of Indonesia fought back from a set down to beat Hong Kong’s Tong Ka-po 0-6, 7-5, 7-5.
Japan’s second seeded Soari Obata came off best in a battle between left handers, defeating Korean Choi Jin-young 6-4,6-4.
Chinese star Liu Nan Nan upset sixth seeded Korean Choi Young-ja 6-3, 6-3.
Wednesday’s second round results (x denotes seed):
Men’s singles:
Lee Hyung-taik (Kor x1) bt Wang Yu (Chn) 6-3, 6-1; Takahiro Terachi (Jpn x6) bt Simon Shen (Tpe) 6-2, 6-2; Takao Suzuki (Jpn x5) bt Peter Handoyo (Ina) 6-2, 6-2; Wang Yeu-tzuoo (Tpe) bt Chung Hee-seok (Kor) 6-2, 6-2; Yoon Yong-Il (Kor x7) bt John Hui (Hkg) 6-2, 6-4; Paradorn Srichaphan (Tha x2) bt Cheng Wei-jen (Tpe) 6-4, 6-4; Vadim Kutsenko (Uzb x4) bt Hiroki Kondo (Jpn) 3-6, 6-0, 6-3; Suwandi (Ina x8) bt Lu Yen Hsun (Tpe) 6-4, 6-2.