Chinese fourth seed Zheng Jie and unheralded Li Na both fought into the last four at the Monterrey Open WTA event Saturday.
Zheng brushed aside Argentine seventh seed Gisela Dulko 6-3, 6-2 while Li edged Czech Lucie Safarova 6-3, 7-6 (3) and could possibly meet in the semifinals.
Li clinched the victory in the scorching afternoon in the Mexico city. She eased to win the first set but had to fight point for point in the second.
"I kept telling myself, 'use your head' after each error," said Li.
The former Chinese number, now ranked 53th was also impressed by Mexican spectators' love for the sport.
"They always come early to wait for the start of a match despite of the hot weather. It is the first time for me to get so much support on foreign soil," she said. Li next takes on Czech Iveta Benesova, seeded sixth, who sent home compatriot Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 7-5, 6-4.
In the other semifinal, Zheng faces second seed Marion Bartoli of France who scraped past bt Amercian Vania King 2-6, 6-2, 6-3.
Zheng said the semifinal could prove to be a test.
"Next match will be a challenge as I never played her before," said the Chinese ace, 18th ranked in the world.
(Xinhua News Agency March 7, 2009)
