Unseeded Tamara Zidansek of Slovenia booked her berth in the semi-finals of the US$267,082 WTA Allied Thailand Open at Arena Hua Hin on Friday.

World No.261 Zidansek battled past No.74 Nadia Podoroska of Argentina 4-6, 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/3) in three and a half hours.

Podoroska started off well and hit five aces as she took the first set 6-4. The second and third sets were both tight and it was Zidansek, who edged them in tiebreaks.

Zidansek will next face Croatian world No.129 Jana Fett, who edged No.102 Rebecca Sramkova of Slovakia 6-4, 4-6, 6-1.

Meanwhile, two-time Grand Slam winner Barbora Krejcikova came to train at Arena Hua Hin during the WTA 250 tournament.

The Czech player won the Wimbledon title in July and the 2021 French Open.

“It is good news that a top player like Barbora Krejcikova came to train at Arena Hua Hin. This shows that the venue has a world-class standard and the world’s top players see it as a perfect place for their training preparation,” said former men’s world No.9 Paradorn Srichaphan, the Thailand Open tournament director.

Krejcikova is preparing for the WTA 1000 China Open in Beijing, starting from Sept 25 to Oct 6.

Davis Cup Final 8

Champions Italy will face Argentina in the Davis Cup Final 8 in November after the draw was made for the knockout stage on Thursday.

Also in the top half of the draw, the United States face Australia while in the bottom half, 2022 champions Canada take on Germany and Spain play the Netherlands.

The eight quarter-finalists will compete to be crowned 2024 champions in Malaga, Spain, from Nov 19 to 24, with knockout ties consisting of two singles matches and a doubles match.