Russian wild card entry Maria Kirilenko rallied from a set down to upset third seed Czech Republic's Klara Koukalova to advance to the quarterfinals of the Kia Korea Open in Seoul on Thursday.

Kirilenko and Koukalova went head-to-head in the first set with either one giving up on their serves to put the set in a tie-break at 6-all.

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The 32-year-old Czech went up ahead to take the set at 7-4 but the Russian broke Koukalova in the second set to win it 6-4.

Kirilenko, 27, was unstoppable in the third and deciding set as she shut out Koukalova to advance to the quarters 6(4)-7(7) 6-4 6-0.

Kirilenko did not play in any tournaments for the first three months of this year which caused her rank to go down but said that if she plays well, her ranking would go up.

"It was obviously disappointing to be injured, and I really missed playing, but I had some rest and tried to enjoy my time away," Kirilenko said. "I'm really practicing and trying hard to get back in my best shape."

Kirilenko will next face sixth seeded Kaia Kanepi of Estonia who also had a three-set victory over Kristyna Pliskova 3-6 6-3 6-2.

Second seed Karolina Pliskova, Kristyna's twin sister, advanced to the quarters after defeating German Anna-Lena Friedsam in three sets 6-4 6(5)-7(7) 6-2.

Karolina, 22, will face American qualifier Nicole Gibbs who rallied from a set down to win against Danka Kovinic in the second round 1-6 6-4 7(7)-6(5).

Fourth seed Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia also made it into the quarterfinals after a straight set victory over Belgian Yanina Wickmayer 6-2 6-2.

Rybarikova, 25, is set to face American Christina McHale who won against Mona Barthel of Germany 6-1 4-6 6-3 on Wednesday.

In the doubles competition, Chin-Wei Chan and Chieh-Yu Hsu advanced to the semifinals after upsetting fourth seeds Oksana Kalashnikova and Renata Voracova in straight sets 6-3 6-2.

The Chinese Taipei tandem will go up against Barthel and Mandy Minella who easily won over Romanian Elena Bogdan and Hiroko Kuwata of Japan 6-0 6-2.

TagsMaria Kirilenko, Kaia Kanepi, Karolina Pliskova, Magdalena Rybarikova