Tennis – Pan Pacific Open Women’s Singles Semifinal match – Arena Tachikawa Tachihi, Tokyo, Japan – September 22, 2018. Naomi Osaka of Japan reacts during a match against Camila Giorgi of Italy. REUTERS/Toru Hanai
September 22, 2018
U.S. Open champ Naomi Osaka cruised past Italy’s Camila Giorgi 6-2, 6-3 to reach the final of the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo.
It was Osaka’s 10th match victory in a row, dating back to the start of the U.S. Open.
“The way that she plays, if she’s on, it would be almost impossible to beat her,” Osaka said of Giorgi.
The third-seeded Japanese star next faces fourth-seeded Karolina Pliskova in Sunday’s final. Pliskova rallied for a 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 victory over Donna Vekic to advance.
Osaka and Pliskova have faced off twice, each winning once. Pliskova has 10 career titles to her name, while Osaka has two — though both have come this season.
Guangzhou Open
Third-seeded Qiang Wang beat No. 5 seed Yulia Putintseva 6-1, 6-2 to win the Guangzhou Open in China.
Wang, 26, becomes just the fourth Chinese player to win the event on home soil.
“I felt so happy to win the tournament,” said Wang. “I like [playing in] China so much. I think it’s a big thing for me, in China with many of my friends here.”
Putintseva hadn’t lost a set all week before being overwhelmed in her second career final.
KEB Hana Bank Korea Open
Second-seeded Kiki Bertens held off No. 3 seed Maria Sakkari 6-4, 6-2 to reach the final at the KEB Hana Bank Korea Open in Seoul, South Korea.
She’ll face Croatia’s Ajla Tomljanovic, who rallied to beat No. 6 seed Hsieh Su-Wei 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 in the other semifinal.
Bertens, 26, becomes the first Dutch player to reach a final in Seoul as she searches for her seventh career title. Tomljanovic, 25, is still looking for her first career title.
The pair have only met once before, with Bertens beating Tomljanovic in three sets at the 2017 French Open.
–Field Level Media
