TOKYO (AFP) - Tamarine Tanasugarn said she had mixed feelings when she became the first competitor to reach the semi-finals of the Japan Open after her opponent retired hurt.
The unseeded Thai player, runner-up here in 2001, received a free ticket at 6-1, 3-0 when last year's finalist Anika Kapros of Hungary abandoned the match with a knee injury.
"It seems unlucky for Anika today. She was playing so well, and she had confidence from last year," said Tamarine. "It's bad luck that she hurt her knee."
Knowing Kapros was a tough competitor, Tamarine said she concentrated on playing her own game -- something made more difficult by her compatriot Paradorn Srichaphan playing on an adjacent court.
Tamarine said while she was worried about her own game, she wanted to watch Paradorn play as well.
Playing his first match since Saturday in Bangkok, fourth seed Paradorn struggled to find his form before finally beating Harel Levy of Israel 2-6, 7-6 (7/3), 6-4 in the men's singles second round.
"I just couldn't play well," Paradorn said of his first set.
In other matches fifth seed Jiri Novak of the Czech Republic outclassed Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 7-5, 6-2 while 11th seed Ricardo Mello downed fellow Brazilian Flavio Saretta 5-7, 6-2, 7-6 (7/5).
American 13th seed Jan-Michael Gambil was a 7-6 (7/5), 6-1 winner over Takahiro Terachi of Japan, and Bohdan Ulihrach of the Czech Republic beat 12th seed Jarkko Nieminen of Finland 6-3, 7-6 (7/5).
The 1998 Japan Open champion Andrei Pavel of Romania, 15th seed, fell victim to Bjorn Phau of Germany who won 6-2, 6-1.