Luksika storms through to 1st-ever quarter-final

The Thai teen qualifier took just 72 minutes to knock out the world No 97, and become only the second Thai woman to progress to the last eight of a WTA event, after Tamarine Tanasugarn.

 “I didn’t realise that [landmark was beckoning]. It is quite overwhelming to be able to achieve, because I didn’t expect to be at this stage of the tournament. I thought just making the main draw and winning a match would be okay,” said Luksika, who survived a late surge from her 30-year-old opponent. At 4-1 in the second set, Daniilidou rallied back to 4-3 using her powerful forehands.

“At the start she didn’t seem to be at the top of her game, but in the second set her forehand worked well. After she fought back to 4-3, I hung onto the only break I had to the end,” said Luksika, who next faces Japanese fourth-seed Ayumi Morita. The Thai is looking to for revenge after compatriot Nudnida Luangnam was ousted 6-3 6-1 by the 55th-ranked Japanese in just 62 minutes.

“I like watching Morita play because she hits two-handed from both sides like me. She has attacking groundstrokes and has good footwork. I haven’t worked out a strategy for her yet, but of course I need to stick to my own game,” said the 19 year old Thai.