The top seed in action on Tuesday at the Guadalajara Open made it through her opening match unscathed as Maria Sakkari defeated Marta Kostyuk 6-4 6-4.
Sakkari is one of the players needing a strong result in the tournament to break into the top-eight of the world rankings to qualify for the upcoming WTA Finals, entering the week at 10th, but only needing to make up one spot, with number eight Simona Halep out due to injury.
With her victory over Kostyuk, Sakkari avoided notching four consecutive losses for the first time this season, and will likely only need one more win to move into WTA Finals contention.
Her next opponent appears to be world number 16 Danielle Collins, who had no issue dispatching American compatriot Caroline Dolehide 6-4 6-1 to book her second-round fixture against Magdalena Frech after the Polish qualifier beat Yulia Putintseva 6-3 6-4.
World number seven Daria Kasatkina also should be locked into the WTA Finals after cruising past China's Lin Zhu 6-1 6-2, while 18th-ranked Beatriz Haddad Maia's season is over after a disappointing 7-5 6-2 upset loss to Katerina Siniakova.
Petra Kvitova needed to reach the final to have a chance of qualifying, but after a strong first set she fell 3-6 6-2 6-0 against Canada's Bianca Andreescu. In a good day for the Canadians, Eugenie Bouchard also beat Kayla Day 7-5 6-3 as the former world number five fights her way back up the rankings after a long injury layoff.
Italy's Elisabetta Cocciaretto defeated Russia's Anastasia Potapova 6-2 6-1, while Latvia's top talent Jelena Ostapenko cruised past America's Lauren Davis 6-1 6-3.
Madison Keys was too strong for Magda Linette in a 6-3 6-3 triumph, and in an all-Czech matchup, Marie Bouzkova downed Tereza Martincova 6-2 7-5.
Croatia's Donna Vekic eliminated Brazil's Laura Pigossi 6-4 6-1, and Italy's Martina Trevisan showed why she is top-30 in the world with a convincing 6-4 6-3 straight sets win against Japan's Nao Hibino.
In the last match of the night, world number 10 Caroline Garcia survived an early scared to come from behind and defeat Rebecca Marino 6-7 (2-7) 6-3 7-6 (7-5).
Dominant Djokovic breezes past Cobolli in Shanghai
Novak Djokovic's hopes of claiming a 100th tour-level title are still alive after cruising past Flavio Cobolli at the Shanghai Masters.
After being pushed all the way by Alex Michelsen in his opener, the Serb looked much more comfortable as he triumphed 6-1 6-2 in the third round in just 64 minutes.
He got an early break to take control in the first set, racing into a 3-0 lead before Cobolli got on the board, but another three-game winning streak for Djokovic gave him the first set.
The Italian started the second set brighter, going toe to toe as they traded blows in the opening games.
However, Djokovic soon regained control, and though Cobolli managed to save five of the nine break points he faced during the match, he could do little as the 37-year-old won the final five games to progress.
Djokovic will now face Roman Safiullin in the fourth round.
Data Debrief: Cruise control
Since the format's inception in 1990, Djokovic (82.02%, 406-89) has surpassed Rafael Nadal (82.00%, 410-90) for the highest winning percentage of any player at ATP Masters 1000 events - minimum 10 matches.
And he did so in dominant fashion. He struck 11 winners in the first set (19 overall), and won 20 of his 24 first-serve points throughout the game (83%).
Gauff reassured she is moving in 'right direction' after China Open win
Coco Gauff believes she has proven to herself that she is going in the "right direction" after winning the China Open in Beijing.
Gauff triumphed 6-1 6-3 in Sunday's final, beating Karolina Muchova in just 76 minutes to claim her second title of 2024, after winning the Auckland Open in January.
She is also now the first player to win each of her first seven WTA hard-court finals in the Open Era.
However, after winning the Cincinnati Open and her maiden grand slam at the US Open last year, Gauff struggled at the start of the hard court swing this time around.
After an early exit at the Paris Olympics, she only won once across at Toronto and Cincinnati before seeing her US Open title defence ended in the last 16 by Emma Navarro.
"Everybody can do everything in practice," Gauff told WTA Insider. "This time, when the pressure is on the line, I was just trying to force myself to do things I was uncomfortable with.
"So yeah, I think the result is now reassurance that I am in the right direction.
"A lot of times people forget that I'm still in the developmental phase of my career and nothing is going to be great.
"Most of the people doing well are 25 and older in the top 10, maybe with the exception of Iga [Swiatek]. We have a long way to go, and I still have a lot that I need to work on, and I'm proud of myself thus far.
"I didn't have a complete game at 15, and I don't have one right now, but I've been on tour playing every week almost, trying to be better. I'm just super proud of that."
Gauff will be in action next at the Wuhan Open, making her first appearance at the tournament.
Osaka pulls out of home Japan Open through injury
Naomi Osaka will not play at her home Japan Open next week due to a back injury, organisers confirmed on Monday.
The 26-year-old was forced to retire during the last 16 against eventual champion Coco Gauff at the China Open in Beijing last week because of the same injury.
Osaka was on a three-match winning streak before her meeting with Gauff, having also registered her first comeback victory in two years earlier in the tournament when she beat Yulia Putintseva in the second round.
However, the four-time grand slam winner has not recovered in time and will not be able to play on home soil when the tournament starts on October 14.
"Due to injury, Naomi Osaka has decided to withdraw from the tournament," the Japan Tennis Association said in a statement.
Osaka is still scheduled to play in the Pan Pacific Open Tennis Tournament 2024 in Tokyo, which begins on October 21.
Her last appearance in her home country was at that tournament in 2022, when she withdrew in the second-round match with abdominal pains.
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