Bianca Andreescu: Bianca Andreescu ended Naomi Osaka's hopes of reaching the semifinals on comeback as she defeated the former Grand Slam winner in three sets in the quarterfinals of the Libema Open here on Friday.
Andreescu emerged victorious in the battle of former US Open champions, beating Osaka 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(3) to make the first semifinal of the 2024 season. She will next face Hungarian qualifier Dalma Galfi in the semifinals on Saturday. Galfi advanced with a straight-set win over Aleksandra Krunic, 7-5, 6-3.
Andreescu was sidelined for nine months with a back injury and made her competitive return to the tour two weeks ago at Roland Garros.
She came into Friday's highly anticipated quarterfinal looking for her first win over Osaka. The only prior meeting between the two stars came nearly five years ago at the 2019 China Open. Osaka came from a set down to defeat Andreescu, then the reigning US Open champion, and snap the Canadian's 17-match winning streak.
On Friday, the Japanese star once again came back from a set deficit to force the decider. However, this time, Andreescu could not be denied as she won the third set in the tie-break to seal victory.