Rising teenage star Naomi Osaka reached her first-ever semifinal on the WTA Tour after conquering her demons in a 6-3, 7-6 (8-6) win over Belarusian qualifier Aliaksandra Sasnovich at the Pan Pacific Open on Friday.
Eighteen-year-old Osaka, who toppled world No. 12 Dominika Cibulkova in the previous round, broke world No. 107 Sasnovich three times to take the first set at Ariake Colosseum but was left hurling her racket and staring up at the roof in frustration after falling into an 0-5 hole in the second.
But the Japanese world No. 66 refound her rhythm in devastating style to take the next five games in succession, before fending off two set points in a tiebreaker to set up a semifinal showdown with Ukrainian world No. 20 Elina Svitolina on Saturday.