Angelique Kerber was shown the exit door at the China Open while Naomi Osaka advanced to quarter-finals of the competition on Thursday. Wang Qiang also continued with her giant-killing ways to enter the last eight.
Wimbledon holder Kerber started off as a favourite to get past Shuai Zhang, but fell quickly behind the eight-ball when she lost the first set 6-1. She came back to win the second but was bagelled in the third to crash out of the tournament.
And Zhang will now take on the eighth seeded Osaka in her last-eight match after the Japanese US Open winner wasted no time in going past Julia Goerges, the 10th seed. Osaka won 6-1, 6-2, having earlier dispatched Danielle Collins 6-1, 6-0 in her second round match.
Osaka has now won 39 matches this season, losing only a handful and is assured of playing in the WTA Finals.
Also moving into the quarter-finals was the second seeded Caroline Wozniacki, who overcame Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit in her third round match. It was a straight set win but not before the Dane was stretched in the first set, finally winning 7-5, 6-4.
She will now take on qualifier Katerina Siniakova for a place in the China Open semi-finals. Siniakova defeated the 11th seeded Kiki Bertens 6-4, 6-3 to make it to the round of eight.
Unseeded Wang shocked Karolina Pliskova in the round three in straight sets, winning 6-4, 6-4.
Wang has had a tournament to remember. After getting into the second round for having made it to the semi-finals in Wuhan, she started off with a 6-0, 6-0 drubbing of Jelena Ostapenko. Ranked 28th in the world at the moment, Wang has already won two titles this year including one at Jiangxi, followed by one at Guangzhou.
Pliskova is one of those who is still looking to cement her place at the WTA Finals and a title win here would have done just that. Unfortunately for her, Wang stood in her way and sent her knocking out.
Be the first to comment