China's Shuai Peng upset third seed Elena Dementieva 7-5, 6-4 in the second round of the Acura Classic on Tuesday.
Playing only her second WTA Tour match since the French Open, China's highest-ranked player outran the fleet Dementieva, staying away from the Russian's forehand and dominating off the backhand side.
"I wasn't thinking I was playing a top player, only to play my game and fight for every point," Peng said.
"I'm happy that I beat a higher ranked player, but I want to keep improving."
Peng is playing in only her second tournament since she nearly upset top ranked Lindsay Davenport in the French Open because China's tennis players were told to participate in the Chinese National Olympics, held at the same time as Wimbledon.
"I really wanted to play Wimbledon," said Peng, who plays for the province of Tian Jin. "But my team needed me. It was a difficult decision."
According to Peng's coach, Alan Ma, even the Chinese Tennis Federation was not pleased with conflicting dates, but they had been etched in stone long ago.
"These decisions affect two billion people," he said.
Peng and the rest of China's players will also miss the all WTA tournaments in October, including the Guangzhou Open, because the final stages of Chinese Olympics are held then.
Dementieva, who often practices with the 19-year-old Peng, was impressed by her foe's game.
"She's very aggressive and hits a heavy ball," Dementieva said. "I played well, too.
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Peng was not the only Asian player to score a win because India's Sania Mirza took down Italy's Tathiana Garbin 6-2, 6-2.
"I like the hard court season," said Mirza, who will now face fourth seed Nadia Petrova. "I like to think I have an aggressive game that works well on hard courts."
Tenth seed Nathalie Dechy of France moved ahead when she beat Kristina Brandi 6-2, 6-2.
In a minor upset, Japan's Akiko Morigami defeated 15th seed Flavia Pennetta of Italy 6-1, 7-5.
