Top-seeded Slovakian Daniela Hantuchova was made to work hard for a 7-6 (7-4) 4-6 6-2 victory over Taipei's Yung-Jan Chan in the quarter-finals of the Commonwealth Bank Tennis Classic on Friday.
Hantuchova appeared to be well on her way to a win when she opened up a 4-0 lead to start the match, but Chan battled back to force a tie-break.
Although the 19-year-old dropped the tie-breaker, her confidence carried over into the second set, which she won before finally succumbing to the world number 11 in the decisive third set.
"I'm just so excited to be in the semis after what I had to go through with my injury," said Hantuchova, who missed two months of action this year due to a stress fracture in her right foot.
"I was very proud how I kept fighting, tried to weather the storm, because she was playing unbelievable. She was going for every shot and at one point there was not much I could have done."
Hantuchova, 25, did make the most of her break-point opportunities, winning all nine she forced during the two-hour, 37-minute affair. However, she also faced 17 break-points against Chan, who converted eight of those opportunities.
The runner-up at this hardcourt event last season, Hantuchova will try to clean up her game for Saturday's semi-final showdown with unseeded Tamira Paszek, who posted the upset of the day with a 4-6 6-0 6-2 win over third seed Flavia Pennetta of Italy.
The 17-year-old Austrian also picked off number seven Sara Errani in second-round action at this Tier III hardcourt event on Thursday.
The top seeds held true on the opposite side of the draw as number two Patty Schnyder of Switzerland and fourth-seeded Russian Nadia Petrova won their quarter-final matches to set up their 12th career meeting.
Schnyder, 29, defeated unseeded pole Marta Domachowska 6-2 6-2 in 51 minutes to move within two victories of her first title since 2005.
"The way I started was really good," said Schnyder. "I made no errors, I served really well, and even my movement got better with the match.
"I think the way I played my game she doesn't really like, when she has to adjust to the balls, my speed and the height of it. So that was a big advantage for me."
Petrova, who captured her first title of the year last month at Cincinnati, had a somewhat more challenging match against fifth-seeded Italian Francesca Schiavone, but eventually emerged with a 6-4 6-3 win after falling behind 4-1 to start the match.
"I just got mad at myself that I really let the beginning of the match slip that way and I was very unhappy I didn't give the right fight," said Petrova, 26.
"I gave her the 4-1 lead, but then I was very strict with myself and pulled myself together and really started fighting for every single point.
"After winning the first set I felt a little bit more in charge of the game. I felt more confidence on my service games in the second set, and overall I'm quite happy with the performance."
Schnyder owns a 6-5 edge in the all-time series with Petrova.
Commonwealth Bank Tennis Classic quarter-finals:
1-Daniela Hantuchova (Slovakia) def. Chan Yung-Jan (China) 7-6 (7-4) 4-6 6-2
2-Patty Schnyder (Switzerland) def. Marta Domachowska (Poland) 6-2 6-2
Tamira Paszek (Austria) def. 3-Flavia Pennetta (Italy) 4-6 6-0 6-2
4-Nadia Petrova (Russia) def. 5-Francesca Schiavone (Italy) 6-4 6-3