By Alberto Amalfi | Thursday, October 3, 2019
Bianca Andreescu extended her winning streak to 17 matches crushing Jennifer Brady 6-1, 6-3 to burst into a Beijing quarterfinal vs. Naomi Osaka.
Photo credit: @ChinaOpen
China will be the center of the tennis universe when reigning US Open champion Bianca Andreescu meets 2018 US Open champion Naomi Osaka in a Beijing blockbuster.
The quarterfinal collision will be the first meeting between two young champions who figure to battle for future Grand Slams.
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A red-shot Andreescu extended her winning streak to 17 matches crushing American qualifier Jennifer Brady 6-1, 6-3 to burst into the last eight.
Andreescu, who has not lost a completed match since since March 1st when she fell to Sofia Kenin in the Acapulco semifinals, raised her record to 48-4 on the season.
Short-term memory loss has helped Andreescu ride this winning wave.
"I just try to go into every tournament like anything else," Andreescu told the media in Beijing. "I feel like US Open didn't even happen, which I think is a good thing. I'm starting off fresh.
"I think taking a couple weeks off after US Open really helped, as well. Take a break mentally and physically to regroup for this tournament. Yeah, I'm glad I'm here. It's a new challenge, new circumstances, different environment. But I'm always up for the challenge, so I'm happy to be here."
The 19-year-old Canadian broke in three of Brady's first four service games taking charge from the start to set up a highly-anticipated meeting vs. Osaka.
The fourth-seeded Japanese answered a 2-4 deficit with authority blasting through 10 straight games battering American Alison Riske 6-4, 6-0.
Osaka belted seven aces and faced only one break point in a 73-minute victory.
The two-time Grand Slam champion has reeled off 14 straight sets during the Asian swing, including rolling to her fourth career title in Osaka last month.
Former world No. 1 Osaka has not lost a match since bowing to Belinda Bencic 7-5, 6-4 in last month's US Open round of 16. The fourth-ranked Osaka is eager to experience Andreescu's game.
Daria Kasatkina, who fell to Osaka in the 2018 Indian Wells final, continued her Beijing resurgence beating Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-3.
The 45th-ranked Russian's serve continues to be an adventure. Kasatkina withstood 10 double faults in reaching her second quarterfinal of the season and first since St. Petersburg in February.
Kasatkina will play defending champion Caroline Wozniacki for a semifinal spot.
The 16th-seeded Dane defeated Katerina Siniakova 7-5, 6-4 for her ninth straight China Open win. A year ago, Wozniacki beat Siniakova 6-2, 6-2 in the Beijing quarterfinals.