Brisbane PHOTOS: Barty upset, Osaka & Pliskova advance to quarterfinals

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Wilson Blade 9

After Alison Riske, Danielle Collins and Madison Keys reached the quarterfinals on the perfect Wednesday for American tennis at the Brisbane International, qualifier Jennifer Brady became the fourth American in the final eight by upsetting world No.1 Ashleigh Barty 6-4 7-6(4) on Thursday without facing a break point.

In the quarterfinals, Brady will play fifth seed Petra Kvitova, as the Czech breezed past Russia’s Liudmila Samsonova 6-3 6-2 in 61 minutes.

Third seed Naomi Osaka wasted four set points at 5-4 in a tight first set, as Sofia Kenin managed to hold serve and then edge the breakless set in a tiebreak. After getting really tight and making bad decisions during the pressure moments in the first set, Osaka improved that aspect in the second and third set and saw off the American she’s known since junior days 6-7(3) 6-3 6-1.

Speaking about Kenin’s game, Osaka said:

She’s the girl that was younger than me but better than me. In the juniors she used to kill everybody. But I didn’t really play juniors, but in the times that I did, she was like the one winning everything.

In the first round of the Brisbane International, Osaka hit personal best 16 aces, while against Kenin she surpassed that personal record with 18 aces. Osaka’s quarterfinal opponent will be sixth seed Kiki Bertens, as the Dutch battled past Anett Kontaveit 6-3 2-6 7-5.

Defending champion and second seed Karolina Pliskova fought past Ajla Tomljanovic 6-4 6-7(5) 6-1 to move into the quarterfinals, where she’ll face Alison Riske, one of the three Americans that made the final eight yesterday.

The fourth quarterfinal pair will be an all-American encounter between eighth seed Madison Keys and Danielle Collins. They will open Friday’s schedule at 11 a.m. local time at Pat Rafter Arena.

Our photographer Jimmie48 attended all Thursday’s second round matches! Enjoy the gallery below.

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