Tennis News - Karolina Pliskova powers through to quarter-finals at Tianjin Open
ByReuters
Updated 11/10/2018 at 07:19 GMT
Top seed Karolina Pliskova bulldozed her way into the Tianjin Open quarter-finals by beating Slovenian Polona Hercog 6-1 6-2 on Wednesday as the Czech power-hitter eyes a place at the WTA Finals later this month.
Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic hits a return against Wang Qiang of China during their Women's Singles 3rd Round match of the 2018 China Open at the China National Tennis Centre on October 4, 2018 in Beijing, China
Image credit: Getty Images
Pliskova, currently holding eighth spot in the Race to Singapore standings, must reach the semi-finals in Tianjin to secure one of the three available qualifying places for the season-ending tournament starting on October 21.
The world number seven's 50-minute win came after a powerful start and she claimed 80 percent of her first-serve points.
"I'm just happy that I didn't spend that much time on the court today and I can rest a little bit and prepare for my next match," Pliskova said.
Fourth seed Aryna Sabalenka, who must lift the Tianjin trophy to maintain her slim chances of a WTA Finals debut, beat Poland's Magda Linette 6-1 6-3 to reach the last eight.
"I was thinking I need to win this tournament - but at the moment I don't care about Singapore," the Belarusian said. "At the moment I'm focused on each match."
Wuhan champion Sabalenka produced a string of powerful groundstrokes, giving her opponent no chance to find her rhythm.
The 20-year-old will face either Swiss Timea Bacsinszky or Japanese qualifier Misaki Doi in the quarter-finals.
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