Osaka withdraws from Pan Pacific, Pliskova loses
TOKYO (AP) — Defending champion Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo ahead of her second-round match due to unspecified illness. Fifth-seeded Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil benefited by a walkover from Osaka’s withdrawal. In other second-round matches, Petra Martic upset sixth-seeded Karolina Pliskova in straight sets and in a match of unseeded players Liudmila Samsonova squeezed past China’s Xinyu Wang 7-6, 6-3. Veronika Kudermetova dominated Mexican qualifier Fernanda Contreras Gomez. In Friday’s quarterfinals, Martic will play China’s Zhang Shuai, Samsonova faces third-seeded Garbine Muguruza, America’s Claire Liu meets China’s Qinwen Zheng, and Haddad Maia plays Kudermetova.
