Gauff defeated Yuliia Starodubtsewa in three sets to go to the semi-finals. She advanced to the quarterfinals as four-time major winner Naomi Osaka retired at 3-6, 6-4 due to a lower back injury. Osaka led 4-3 in the second set when Gauff won three consecutive games. The sixth-ranked Gauff then assisted Osaka in carrying her bags off the court.
Gauff struck six aces to Osaka’s one, improving to 3-2 in WTA competitions.She will next face No. 115 Yuliia Starodubtseva, who defeated No. 14 Anna Kalinskaya 7-5, 6-0.Paula Badosa won 11 of the last 12 games in a 6-4, 6-0 triumph over U.S. Open finalist Jessica Pegula to advance to her ninth career WTA 1000-level quarterfinal.“She’s one of the players I never want to face — she’s very solid, hits very flat, and changes direction very well,” said Badosa, who had previously lost 0-3 to Pegula.“I prepared myself for a battle, but I think today everything worked pretty well.”Badosa will face 35-year-old Chinese player Zhang Shuai, who maintained her recovery with a 6-4
6-2 win over Magdalena Frech of Poland. Zhang entered the China Open on a 24-match losing streak and ranked No. 595, but she’s yet to drop a set in four matches this week. Zhang is now into her first women’s tour quarterfinal since Tokyo in 2022, and her first at a WTA 1000 tournament since Cincinnati in the same year. “In this draw, everyone has a higher ranking than me,” Zhang said. “Just step on court, just play. So I do not have much to think about, to prepare. I will just focus on myself.
Credit to NBC New York App.
