Radwanska overpowers Puig, Muguruza beaten

TOKYO — Defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska defeated Olympic gold medalist Monica Puig easily to set up a semifinal showdown with Caroline Wozniacki at the Pan Pacific Open Friday. 
Meanwhile, top-seeded Garbine Muguruza crashed out, meaning Saturday’s second semi will be between Japanese wild card Naomi Osaka and the Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina.
Second-seeded Radwanska, of Poland, hit eight aces in overpowering the Puerto Rican 6-2, 6-3. 
“At this level, you have to play well to win by that kind of score,” said Radwanska, who also won here in 2011.
“I knew Monica was in great form, winning the gold, but you just have to go on court and play your game. I was serving great and that helped me a lot.” 
Over nine years, Wozniacki has an 8-4 record against Radwanska, and won their last three matchups.
She beat Polish qualifier Magda Linette 6-4, 6-3. Wozniacki won 79 percent of points on her first serve, including 90 percent in the first set. 
Osaka came from 5-0 down in the second set against Belarussian qualifier Aliaksandra Sasnovich to seal a 6-3, 7-6 (6) win and reach a first WTA semifinal. 
Svitolina took the opening five games on the way to winning a two-hour fight against French Open champion Muguruza, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.

Jankovic in Guangzhou final 
Defending champion Jelena Jankovic will have another shot at the title after defeating Ana Konjuh of Croatia 7-5, 7-6 (7) in the Guangzhou Open semifinals Friday. 
The second-seeded Serb has yet to drop a set this week.
Jankovic will take on Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko, who was into her first final since her maiden title in Istanbul in July last year. 
Tsurenko defeated Anett Kontaveit of Estonia 6-4, 6-2 in the other semifinal.

Wawrinka, Berdych in semis US Open champion Stan Wawrinka and Czech Tomas Berdych both cruised into the Saint Petersburg Open semifinals Friday. 
Top seed Wawrinka beat Serb Viktor Troicki 7-5, 6-2 to set up a meeting with Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut for a place in the final. 
Third seed Berdych, currently ninth in the race to the London ATP Finals, also advanced past Italian veteran Paolo Lorenzi 6-4, 6-3. 
Earlier Bautista Agut, 28, rallied from a set down to see off Portuguese eighth-seed Joao Sousa 4-6, 6-1, 6-2. Canadian Milos Raonic’s reign as St. Petersburg Open champion was over after he suffered a second-round defeat to Russian veteran Mikhail Youzhny Thursday. 
Wimbledon finalist Raonic, sixth in the ATP rankings, fired 13 aces but to no avail as 2004 champion here Youzhny battled back from a set down to win 2-6, 7-6 (8/6), 6-4. 
Youzhny will take on Germany’s Alexander Zverev, fifth seed here, who beat Daniil Medvedev of Russia 6-3, 7-5, for a place in the semifinals. 
Third seed Czech Thomas Berdych, who returned to action after his withdrawal from the US Open due to appendicitis, scraped into the quarterfinals through a tough three-setter against Russia’s Andrey Kuznetsov 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (7/4).
Berdych saw off French qualifier Alexandre Sidorenko 7-6 (7/5), 6-4. 
Troicki cruised into the last eight with a 6-4, 6-4 win over a compatriot Dusan Lajovic, while eighth seed Joao Sousa of Portugal beat Russian wildcard Andrey Rublev 7-6 (7/3), 6-3, 6-3.

Goffin beats Struff
Second-seeded David Goffin of Belgium beat Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff 6-4, 6-2 Thursday to reach the quarterfinals of the Moselle Open. 
Third-seeded Frenchman Lucas Pouille also reached the last eight by beating his Davis Cup teammate Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-4, 6-7 (6) 6-4 in their first ever meeting. 
Goffin plays eighth-seeded Nicolas Mahut, who downed Illya Marchenko of Ukraine 6-3, 6-4, while Pouille next faces Julien Benneteau. 
No. 4 Frenchman Gilles Simon beat Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez for the sixth time in as many meetings, winning 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4.

Niculescu, Tig is semifinals
Fifth seed Monica Niculescu Friday advanced to the Korea Open semifinal along with compatriot Patricia Maria Tig, raising a prospect of all-Romanian final. 
The 28-year-old Niculescu defeated Jana Cepelova from Slovakia 6-4, 6-2 in 81 minutes. 
Tig, ranked the world 135, beat Sara Sorribes Tormo of Spain 7-6(2), 2-6, 6-3 in 154-minute showdown.
Niculescu will next play third seed Zhang Shuai who beat Italy's Camila Giorgi, and Tig will match against Lara Arruabarrena of Spain. 
Serena pulls out of tourneys 
Serena Williams announced Friday that she has pulled out of two forthcoming tournaments in China citing an ongoing shoulder injury. 
“I am disappointed that I will not be able to compete at the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open or the China Open due to continuing issues with my right shoulder,” Williams said in a statement. — Agencies Caption: Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland hits a return to Monica Puig of Puerto Rico during their WTA Pan Pacific Open Tennis Tournament match in Tokyo Friday. — AFP