March 15, 2018 | By Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
Japan’s Naomi Osaka upended fifth-seed Karolina Pliskova in the BNP Paribas Open quarterfinals on Wednesday, downing the Czech 6-2, 6-3 to book her spot in the final four in Indian Wells, Calif.
Osaka completely neutralized the big-serve of Pliskova, breaking the former U.S. Open finalist six times over the course of the match.
“I don’t really think I served that good to be honest. I think I returned well,” said Osaka. “She is one of the best servers on tour and I was able to break her quite a few times, so I’m quite happy about that.”
In the semifinals, Osaka will take on world number one Simona Halep. The top-seeded Romanian held off Petra Martic 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-3 in her quarterfinal match on Wednesday.
Halep is 3-0 all-time against Osaka, including a win at the Australian Open earlier this year.
