KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia(AP) Chang Kai-Chen of Taiwan crushed Zheng Jie of China 6-2, 6-3 to reach the quarterfinals of the Malaysian Open on Thursday.
The 19-year-old sent the No. 3 seed packing days after No. 2 seed Li Na was knocked out by Germany's Tatjana Malek on Monday. Both Zheng and Li Na reached the semifinals of the Australian Open last month.
Chanelle Scheepers reached her first WTA quarterfinal after defeating Tatjana Malek 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 in the second round.
The 26-year-old South African was given a scare by Malek before eventually prevailing in two hours, 27 minutes.
The first set belonged to Malek, who had sensationally knocked out second-seeded Li Na of China in the first round on Tuesday. The German broke her opponent twice but Scheepers fought back in the second set.
The heat and humidity started to take its toll on both players in the third set. Scheepers, who is based in Houston, held out to clinch a quarterfinal date with Ayumi Morita of Japan.