Quarterfinals are set at the Mutua Madrid Open and all leading players confidently won their third-round matches on Wednesday.
World No.1 Naomi Osaka beat Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-2 6-3 to reach the quarterfinals in the Spanish capital for the first time and will next play Belinda Bencic, who stopped qualifier Kateryna Kozlova 6-0 6-2.
Third seed Simona Halep, the 2016 and 2017 Madrid champion, double-bageled Viktoria Kuzmova in just 45 minutes, and is scheduled to open Thursday’s quarterfinal action at noon local time against ninth seed Ashleigh Barty, who progressed into the last eight by beating Yulia Putintseva 4-6 6-1 6-2.