Naomi Osaka remains the player of the hour at the WTA Premier Mandatory Tournament in Indian Wells. The 20-year-old Japanese rider is in the semi-finals after a clear two-set win over Karolina Pliskova.
Naomi Osaka’s success story in the Californian desert continues: After victories against such greats as Maria Sharapova and Agnieszka Radwanka, the power woman from the Far East also won against Karolina Pliskova.
The former world number one from the Czech Republic was defeated by Sascha Bajin with 2:6 and 3:6. It was Osaka’s first win of the season against a top 5 player.
“She played very well, with forehand and backhand perfectly placed the balls,”Pliskova praised her opponent after the match. Osaka quickly took the lead 4-1, and the shallow strikes of the 2016 U. S. Open finalist came back with even more speed.
A hard-earned break at the beginning of the second set finally left the pendulum towards the world rankings-44. turn out. Pliskova was better off than Osaka after losing her serve again at 3-3, but Osaka could not be slowed down.
With Simona Halep, the next big challenge awaits the aspiring Asian in the semi-final. The industry leader had fought her way through three sets against Petra Martic in windy conditions. In the internal balance sheet, it is 3:0 for Halep. The Romanian won the last round of the Australian Open in the last sixteen.
Angelique Kerber and Daria Kasatkina will open part two of the quarter-finals (starting at 7 pm on DAZN) today, Thursday. The final semi-finalist will be determined later in the duel between Venus Williams and Carla Suarez Navarro.