No. 1 seed Zhang Shuai knocked out defending champion Zarina Diyas to advance to the semifinals of the Japan Women’s Open.
China’s Shuai broke the No. 6 seed in the penultimate game of the second set and served out to secure a 6-4, 7-5 victory.
The world No. 41, who reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open in 2016, will now face Amanda Anisimova, after the American defeated Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 6-3, 6-1.
Elsewhere, No. 4 seed Qiang Wang advanced past No. 8 seed Magda Linette thanks to a comprehensive 6-2, 6-2 victory. The Chinese player won the first set in just 33 minutes, despite losing her first two games.
Qiang will have to wait to see if she will face Ajla Tomljanovic or Su-Wei Hsieh in the semifinals after their quarterfinal was suspended due to rain.