Misaki Doi reached the semifinals of the Taiwan Open after winning her quarterfinal against compatriot Kurumi Nara in a walkover.
Doi, ranked 61st in the world and the second seed at the Yang-Ming Tennis Center will play Taiwan's Hsieh Su-wei in the semifinals. The winner of that match could face former world No. 1 Venus Williams in the final.
Hsieh, the sixth seed, had little trouble with Elizaveta Kulichkova in a 52-minute, 6-0, 6-2 victory in which the Russian double-faulted nine times.
In the other quarterfinals, world No. 12 Williams defeated 103rd-ranked Latvian Anastasija Sevastova 7-5, 6-2.
In the semis, Williams will play Kazakhstan's Yulia Putintseva, who defeated Stefanie Voegele of Switzerland, who retired after losing the first set 6-3.