Naomi Osaka recorded a confident 6-4 6-2 victory over defending champion Caroline Wozniacki in the China Open semifinals, beating the fellow former world No.1 for the first time in their three career meetings.
Never before had Osaka won a set against Wozniacki, but today the Japanese steadily progressed through the match, fending off all the seven break points that endangered her service games.
The tight first set went with serve until 4-4, when the fourth-seeded Osaka broke the 16th-seeded Wozniacki. There was no recovery for the Dane, as her opponent lost just two points on her first serve in the entire set.