Caroline Wozniacki has given Ashleigh Barty a reality check one day after the 21-year-old Australian recorded the biggest win of her career.
Wozniacki won their Cincinnati Open round-of-16 clash 6-4 6-2 on Thursday, barely 24 hours after Barty eliminated Wimbledon and Australian Open runner-up Venus Williams to record her first win over top-10 opposition.
The Dane next faces the winner of the match between top seed and world No.1 Karolina Pliskova and Italy’s Camila Giorgi.
Second seed Simona Halep became the tournament’s first quarter-finalist with a 6-4 6-3 win over 15th seed Anastasija Sevastova. The straight-sets win was her second in two matches, but it hadn’t been as easy as it looked, she said.
“I’m not playing my best tennis, but winning when I’m not playing good is a plus for me,” Halep said. “I’m really happy about it.”
It’s the fifth straight year Halep, No.2 in the rankings, has reached the quarter-final stage. She was runner-up to Serena Williams in 2015.
Svetlana Kuznetsova advanced with a 6-2 6-4 win over Carla Suarez Navarro.