China Open: Osaka beats Volynets to set up last-16 clash with Gauff, Sabalenka wins

Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka set up a clash with Coco Gauff at the China Open after marching into the last 16 with a straight-sets victory on Monday.

The former world number one defeated 60th-ranked American Katie Volynets 6-3, 6-2 in Beijing.

Japan’s Osaka is playing her first tournament under Patrick Mouratoglou, the Frenchman best known for being the long-time former coach of Serena Williams.

The 26-year-old Osaka has struggled for consistency and form since returning to tennis in January after the birth of her daughter Shai in July last year and is now ranked 73rd in the world.

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She lost in the second round of the recent US Open, and her best results after becoming a mum have been two quarterfinal appearances.

Osaka has won seven WTA titles, including the China Open in 2019, the same year she triumphed at the Australian Open for the first time.

She also won the title in Melbourne in 2021 and is a two-time US Open champion.

The 2023 New York champion Gauff booked her place in the last 16 in Beijing with a 7-5, 6-2 victory over Britain’s Katie Boulter on Sunday.

The 20-year-old American Gauff is seeded fourth.

Sabalenka charges forward

Aryna Sabalenka’s dominant hard-court season showed no signs of slowing down as she cruised to a 6-2, 6-2 win over Ashlyn Krueger at the China Open on Monday for her 14th consecutive victory.

The three-time Grand Slam winner started her streak with a title at Cincinnati in August and continued with a run to the championship at the U.S. Open earlier this month. She also won the Australian Open earlier in the year.

The second-ranked Sabalenka converted five of her seven breakpoint opportunities in a lopsided contest against Krueger and will next face Madison Keys, hoping to equal her career-best 15 consecutive victories set in 2020-21.

Keys had a 6-3, 6-3 win over Beatrice Haddad Maia of Brazil. Haddad Maia won the Korea Open last week but struggled to combat the baseline power of Keys.

(with inputs from AP)