By Richard Pagliaro | Saturday, October 5, 2019
Naomi Osaka rolled through nine of the last 11 games dethroning defending champion Caroline Wozniacki 6-4, 6-2 setting up a blockbuster Beijing final vs. Ash Barty.
Photo credit: @ChinaOpen
Naomi Osaka continues to play streak buster in Beijing.
In a clash of Grand Slam champions with contrasting styles, Osaka's explosiveness overwhelmed Caroline Wozniacki's quickness.
Watch: Osaka Snaps Andreescu's Win Streak in Thriller
Osaka streaked through nine of the last 11 games dethroning defending champion Wozniacki 6-4, 6-2 charging into her her third final of the season in Beijing.
A day after Osaka snapped US Open champion Bianca Andreescu's 17-match winning streak in a three-set thriller, she unleashed a five-game surge to shatter Wozniacki's 10-match, 20-set China Open winning streak.
Targeting the Dane's weaker forehand wing, Osaka commanded the center of the court, forced Wozniacki to dig out defensive shots on the run and erased break points with her most authoritative serves.
It all added up to Osaka's first career win over her fellow former world No. 1 in three meetings.
"First set, I was just really tight and I also feel like I wasn't playing that well," Osaka said. "But as time went on I started adjusting better. I think my [serving] percentage was pretty bad, but in the crucial points I think it definitely helped me out.
"I didn't have any really strategic points. I just know that she's one of the best movers so I had to expect a lot of balls back."
The two-time Grand Slam champion more than doubled Wozniacki's winner total—30 to 13—and saved all seven break points she faced, including six in the second set, in a one hour, 24-minute victory.
The fourth-seeded Osaka will take on top-seeded Ashleigh Barty in tomorrow's final.
It will be Osaka's third straight match against a major champion.
"I've played her before," Osaka said of Barty. "She's playing really well. She's the No. 1-ranked player so I know it's going to be difficult for me. I wouldn't go into a final and not do my best."
In the day's first semifinal, world No.1 Barty battled back from 3-5 down in the final set then saved a match point in the third-set tiebreaker to defeat Kiki Bertens 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(7).
Counter-punching with precision at the start, Wozniacki stayed in step with Osaka through the first seven games.
Once Osaka began punishing the former Australian Open champion's forehand wing, and occasionally streaking forward to apply more pressure, she began to take control.
Flashing a forehand strike down the line, Osaka broke for 5-4. Whipping a forehand drive volley, Osaka closed the 44-minute first set with a flourish.
Wozniacki out-aced one of the game's premier servers in the first set; Osaka scalded a big forehand return scoring her second straight break to start the second set.
The former world No. 1 earned a break point in the ensuing game, but Osaka crunched a forehand setting up a backhand drive volley to erase it. Osaka launched a 117 mph missile—her first ace of the evening—to help back up the break for 2-0.