By Chris Oddo | Monday January 22, 2018
Simona Halep knocked off the youngest player remaining in the draw to book her spot in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open.
Photo Source: Mark Peterson/Corleve
World No.1 Simona Halep stretched her season-opening winning streak to nine with a 6-3, 6-2 over Naomi Osaka to reach the quarterfinals of the Australian Open for the third time.
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The Romanian had to suffer mightily in her third-round match when she saved three match points to win an epic three hour and 44-minute struggle with American Lauren Davis, but on Monday she was able to push past Osaka in a cool 79 minutes.
That’s great news for a player that twisted her left ankle badly in her first-round victory over Destanee Aiava, and wasn’t sure how she’d be able to hold up as the week progressed. Though her movement may be limited—she has said she still feels pain—Halep has not demonstrated any signs of duress or pulled up lame while on the stretch. Still most experts believe she is slightly compromised as she makes her way through the draw.
The youngest player remaining in the draw was no match from Halep as a string of errors made the World No.1’s job simple—just put the ball in play and be patient.
Halep and Osaka each hit 22 winners, but the Romanian was able to save seven of the eight break points she faced while converting on five of her seven opportunities to run away with things.
Halep improves to 3-0 against Osaka, who was contesting her first round of 16 at a major after No.16-seeded Elina Vesnina and No.19-seeded Ash Barty in the second and third rounds.
Halep improved to an impressive 10-2 in round of 16 matches at majors—she hadn’t lost a fourth-round battle on hard courts since the 2013 U.S. Open. She’ll face either Barbora Strycova or Karolina Pliskova in the final. Halep owns a 4-0 lifetime record against Strycova, and a 5-1 lifetime record against Pliskova.