Osaka halts Andreescu’s streak at China Open

Former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka fought back from a set down and a break down in the third set to outlast U.S. Open champ Bianca Andreescu in a three-set thriller on Friday at the China Open.

Osaka, the No. 4 seed, topped fifth-seeded Andreescu 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 in two hours and 14 minutes to reach the semifinals. It was the first-ever meeting between the two and ended a 17-match winning streak for Andreescu, of Mississauga, Ont.

Osaka, from Japan, had 31 winners and 10 aces in the match. In Saturday’s semifinals, she’ll face Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, who ousted Daria Kasatkina of Russia 6-3, 7-6 (5) in one hour, 41 minutes.

“I forgot how it felt, and honestly, it sucks. I didn’t miss it,” Andreescu, 19, said after her first loss since the Miami Open in March and her first loss against a top 10 opponent in nine matches. “Hopefully, that was fun (to watch).

“I think we’re going to have many matches like this. Our game styles are pretty different, but they level up pretty equally.”

Osaka became the fifth player to qualify for the season-ending WTA Finals in Shenzhen, China, after Ashleigh Barty, Karolina Pliskova, Wimbledon champion Simona Halep and Andreescu.

Friday’s win continued a run of success in Beijing for Wozniacki, the 16th seed and defending champ. She extended her winning streak at the China Open to 10 matches and 20 sets in a row.

In the other half of the draw, world No. 1 Barty of Australia needed three sets to top No. 7 seed Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.

In Saturday’s other semifinal, Barty will face Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands, who upset Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina 7-6 (6), 6-2.