TOKYO —US Open champion Naomi Osaka stormed past Italy’s Camila Giorgi 6-2, 6-3 Saturday to reach the final of the Pan Pacific Open, where she will face Karolina Pliskova.
Osaka’s victory in front of an expectant home crowd was her 10th in a row and did not look in doubt from the moment the world number seven pounded down a huge ace with her first serve of the match.
The 20-year-old, who became Japan’s first Grand Slam singles champion in New York two weeks ago, hit a further eight aces to overwhelm world No. 37 Giorgi.
Osaka has carried the poise and power that saw her overcome Serena Williams in the Flushing Meadows final across the Pacific with her and, helped by eight double-faults from Giorgi, wrapped up the victory in just 72 minutes.
A runner-up at this event two years ago, Osaka has not dropped a set so far this week and has had her service broken just once.
“It’s a bit surprising but I felt kind of calm going into the first round match and a lot of people were surprised because they thought I would be very nervous,” Osaka told reporters of her stunning run of form.
“Today was the first match that I felt nervous. But other than that I feel like I’ve been playing well and I’ve been trying to set little goals for myself.”
Osaka advanced to face world No. 8 Pliskova in the final after the big-serving Czech outlasted Croatia’s Donna Vekic 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 in a topsy-turvy match that lasted more than two hours.
Wang wins 2nd WTA title
China’s Wang Qiang picked up her second career WTA title with a surprisingly straightforward 6-1, 6-2 victory over Yulia Putintseva in the final of the Gunagzhou International Women’s Open Saturday.
It was the second title on home soil for he two-time Asian Games singles champion, who defeated compatriot Zheng Saisai to win the Jiangxi Open in Nanchang in July.
Wang hit 25 winners to just 16 unforced errors during the match and broke her Kazakh opponent five times to win the title without dropping a set all week. She saved all three break points she faced in the match. — Agencies
