Naomi Osaka is bracing for a “battle” after setting up a Monday clash with Coco Gauff in the China Open round of 16, while top seed Aryna Sabalenka also walked.
Osaka beat 60th-ranked American Katie Volynets 6-3, 6-2 and will next face Gauff in a showdown between the former US Open champions in Beijing.
World number two Sabalenka beat Ashlyn Krueger 6-2, 6-2 for her 14th straight victory and faces another American in 24th-ranked Madison Keys.
Ahead of the Gauff meeting, Osaka, a four-time Grand Slam champion, said: “She’s obviously very athletic. For me, my strongest traits are aggression and also my serve.
“So it’s definitely going to be a battle. Who wants to take control of the point first? And I think it’ll be me.”
The former number one from Osaka is playing her first tournament under the direction of Patrick Mouratoglou, the Frenchman best known for being the former long-time coach of Serena Williams.
The 26-year-old Japanese won four major tournaments between 2018 and 2021: the US Open and the Australian Open, both twice.
She is also a former winner in Beijing and said she feels at home on the hard courts in the Chinese capital.
Osaka has struggled for consistency since returning to tennis in January following the birth of her daughter Shai and is ranked 73rd in the world.
Her best results after becoming a parent were two quarter-final appearances.
2023 New York champion Gauff booked her place in the round of 16 with a 7-5, 6-2 victory over Briton Katie Boulter.
The American Gauff, 20, is seeded fourth.
She and Osaka have played four times before, each winning twice. Their last meeting was in 2022 in San Jose when Gauff won 6-4, 6-4.
Current US Open champion Sabalenka was error-prone in winning her opening match in Beijing against Thai qualifier Mananchaya Sawangkaew in straight sets.
But the Belarusian was in great form from the start against Krueger, 68th.
The 26-year-old believes she is not quite playing the best tennis of her career, but said: “Controlling my emotions is the key.”
“Before, I felt like if I didn’t win this match, something bad was going to happen. I was going to die,” she explained.
“Today I work hard, I try to improve every day. Every time I am on the field I try to do my best. If you do your best but you don’t have won the match, it’s good.”
Sabalenka is going to take some time to stop. Fourteen of her 16 titles have been won on hard courts and only Iga Swiatek has won more matches on tour this season.
Top-ranked Swiatek is not in Beijing on “personal business.”
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