TOKYO (AP) Local favorite Kurumi Nara upset third-seeded Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan 6-2, 6-2 on Thursday to advance to the quarterfinals of the Japan Open.
Nara secured the win when she broke Putintseva's serve in the final game of the second set and will next face Jana Cepelova of Slovakia.
In other matches, sixth-seeded Shuai Zhang of China overpowered Naomi Osaka of Japan 6-3, 6-2 to book her spot in the last eight.
Zhang saved four of five break points she faced and will next meet Varvara Lepchenko of the United States.
In other second-round matches, Alison Riske of the United States beat Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus 6-3, 6-1, and Viktorija Golubic of Switzerland defeated Magda Linette of Poland 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-3.