Osaka reaches quarterfinals at Pan Pacific Open
OSAKA, Japan (AP) Top-seeded Naomi Osaka reached the quarterfinals at the Pan Pacific Open by beating qualifier Viktoriya Tomova 7-5, 6-3 on Wednesday.
Osaka, who was broken twice early in the match, is looking to win her first title in her hometown after finishing runner-up in 2016 and 2018.
She will next meet either Yulia Putintseva or Russian qualifier Varvara Flink.
Also, fourth-seeded Angelique Kerber won her first match since Wimbledon, beating American qualifier Nicole Gibbs 6-2, 6-4.
''The goal now is to finish the year as well as I can, to put all the energy which I have into this run in Asia and to play well in the next few weeks,'' Kerber said.
Kerber will next face Madison Keys, who defeated Zarina Diyas 5-7, 6-0, 6-4.
''I know Madison really well, so I know what to expect,'' Kerber said. ''It will be interesting. We both know we have to play our best against each other.''
Elise Merterns also advanced, beating Hsieh Su-Wei 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 win.
At the Korea Open in Seoul, second-seeded Ekaterina Alexandrova recovered well to beat Kristyna Pliskova 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 and reach the quarterfinals.
Alexandrova will next play Kristie Ahn. The American advanced by beating Ana Bogdan of Romania 0-6, 6-4, 7-6 (2).
Magda Linette also reached the quarterfinals, defeating Anastasia Potapova 7-5, 7-6 (4). The fourth-seeded Linette will next meet Kirsten Flipkens, who upset seventh-seed Margarita Gasparyan 6-3, 7-5.
---
More AP Tennis: https://www.apnews.com/apf-Tennis and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports