KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Ashleigh Barty grabbed her place in the quarterfinals of the Alya Malaysian Open, brushing aside fellow qualifier Miyu Kato 6-0, 6-3 in under an hour.
Then she promptly lined up alongside compatriot Casey Dellacqua to beat Nao Hibino and Varatchaya Wongteanchai 6-4, 6-0 to secure a semifinal spot against Elise Mertens and Ipek Soylu in the doubles competition.
The 20-year-old will next face Zhang Kai-Lin in the singles.
There was heartbreak for fourth seed Peng Shuai, though, forced to retire with a lower back injury from her match against Magda Linette while 5-2 down in the first set.
Peng Shuai retires due to injury.@MagdaLinette advances to @alyawtamo Quarterfinals. pic.twitter.com/JDmXr0n6KV
? WTA (@WTA) March 2, 2017
The Polish player now takes on Duan Ying-Ying in the next round. The fifth seed was tested by Sara Sorribes Tormo, stretched to a third set before triumphing 6-0, 4-6, 7-5.
Sixth seed Wang Qiang brushed aside wildcard Zheng Saisai, 6-1, 6-1, and will play countrywoman Han Xinyun in the quarterfinals.
Han had an equally straightforward time in the third round, defeating Caroline Garcia's vanquisher Anna Kalinskaya 6-3, 6-0.