British No. 1 Katie Boulter downed Anastasia Zakharova in the Hong Kong Open quarterfinals. Photo by Hermann Chu/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images
British No. 1 Katie Boulter booked her spot in the semifinals of the Hong Kong Open on Friday with a 6-4, 6-0 win over Anastasia Zakharova.
The opening set proved the game would be a hard-fought quarterfinal as Zakharova played at a higher standard than her No. 113 world ranking showed.
Boulter, ranked No. 29 in the world, had to save two break points in the first set before securing the crucial break in the 10th game.
The second set, which lasted just 30 minutes, was a one-sided battle with Boulter denying Zakharova the chance to win even a single game.
Boulter will face six seed Yuan Yue from China in the semifinal after she cruised past Sofia Kenin 6-3, 6-3.
