 5th seed Shahar Pe'er had to try hard to concentrate on her tennis because an Auckland-based protest group staged protests at her decision not to pull out of the tournament with a war taking place in Gaza.Nevertheless, she became the third seed to progress, beating Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová in a topsy-turvy match 6–3, 4–6, 6–2.Day five saw both semi-finals take place in the singles draw.