Naomi Osaka, of Japan, returns a shot against Simona Halep, of Romania, during the semifinals at the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament, Friday, March 16, 2018, in Indian Wells, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) WASHINTON: Unseeded Pole Magda Linette upset third seed Naomi Osaka 6-2 3-6 6-3 on Thursday to reach the quarter-finals of the Citi Open in Washington.Linette’s pinpoint serving, punishing groundstrokes and deft drop shots proved the difference in her first career meeting with the 20-year-old Indian Wells champion. “I’m very happy, because it was really tough,” Linette said. “I knew that at some point she would come back and I just wanted to keep playing aggressive. And even though I missed some shots in the second set, I just tried to stay aggressive and somehow I came back.” Next up for Linette is seventh seed Donna Vekic, who beat Fanny Stollar 6-2 3-6 7-6(13) earlier in the day. “I’ve played (Vekic) in practice a couple of times and she’s an extremely competitive player,” said Linette. “I expect a really tough match tomorrow, and I just hope I can play as good as today.”Eighth seed Yulia Putintseva dispatched American Jennifer Brady 7-5 6-2 to set up a quarter-final against Svetlana Kuznetsova, who crushed Ana Bogdan 6-2 6-1. China’s Zheng Saisai broke Belgian Ysaline Bonaventure six times en route to a 6-4 6-4 win and will meet American Allie Kiick in the quarter-finals on Friday. Belinda Bencic of Switzerland received a walk-over when Nao Hibino withdrew prior to their match with an injury. The sixth seed will face Andrea Petkovic in their quarters on Friday. Published in Daily Times, August 4th 2018.