Top-ranked Amelie Mauresmo defeated Lindsay Davenport 6-4, 6-3 Friday to advance to the China Open semifinals.
Mauresmo won 74 per cent of her first serves to overpower Davenport for the first time since beating the American in the final of the 2000 Sydney International.
Davenport had beaten Mauresmo in their nine previous encounters heading into the quarter-finals.
Mauresmo next meets sixth-seeded Jelena Jankovic, who rallied to beat Nadia Petrova 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.
Second-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova needed three sets to defeat Li Na, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.
Kuznetsova, winner of last week's Wismilak International, will play wild-card Peng Shuai, who advanced with a 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-2 win over Ai Sugiyama.
