By Chris Oddo | Wednesday August 3, 2016

 

Monica Puig eased past talented Naomi Osaka to book her spot in the semifinals at Florianopolis.

Photo Source: Brasil Tennis Cup

Puerto Rico’s Monica Puig has reached her third semifinal in less than three months with a 6-3, 6-4 win over 18-year-old sensation Naomi Osaka of Japan.

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Puig, who also reached the last four at Nottingham and Eastbourne this summer, improved to 16-9 on the hardcourts with her 31st tour-level triumph of the season.

Puig improved to 2-0 lifetime against Osaka by winning 30 of 35 first-serve points and saving five of six break points. The 22-year-old World No. 37 was broken on her first return game of the match but held serve the rest of the way to set up a semifinal encounter with second-seeded Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania.

Begu knocked off Japan’s Nao Hibino, 6-2, 6-4, to reach her second semifinal of 2016 and first on hardcourt.

The other semifinal at Florianopolis will feature first-time semifinalist Ana Bogdan of Romania and 6th-seeded Timea Babos of Hungary.

Babos knocked off 4th-seeded Jelena Ostapenko, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, while Bogdan downed Lyudmyla Kichenok, 6-3, 6-3.

Bogdan, who upset top-seeded Jelena Jankovic on Tuesday, has won three consecutive matches for the first time at the tour-level.