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Emma Raducanu was sublime on serve as she dominated former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka 6-4, 6-2 at the Citi DC Open on Thursday.
The World No. 46 would have approached her first-ever meeting against Osaka with confidence, following a gritty straight-sets win over seventh seed Marta Kostyuk in the opening round.
However, Osaka was also impressive in her first-round match in Washington, dispatching Yulia Putintseva in straight sets.
The first set in this battle of Grand Slam champions was largely serve-dominated, though it was Raducanu who proved the stronger on return, needing just one break on her way to taking the opener.
The 2021 US Open champion stamped her authority on the match with an early break in the second set and, after saving a break point to move 3-1 up, broke Osaka for the second time in the set to edge closer to victory.
Raducanu was ultimately able to hold firm and seal a dazzling victory in just an hour and 20 minutes, not dropping serve once on her way to sealing her place in a second consecutive Citi DC Open quarter-final.
"I thought it was going to be a really difficult match. Naomi, she's won four Slams, she's been world No 1, won Masters," said Raducanu in her on-court interview.
"She's so dangerous, and on the hard courts I think she's particularly comfortable, so I knew I was going to have to play really well and manage my own service games - which I'm really proud of how I did.
"I was kind of making some inroads in her service games after I got used to it a little bit. I'm really pleased with how I handled the ball speed and the conditions here in D.C."
With her points from her 2024 quarter-final run no longer factored into her ranking, Raducanu had already surged up five places to world No 41 in the WTA Live Rankings after beating Kostyuk.
And, having seen off Osaka to reach the last eight, Raducanu is provisionally back into the top 40 of the rankings as things stand.
Currently ranked 46th in the official rankings, the 22-year-old is now set to move up seven spots to world No 39, holding 1,139 ranking points - leapfrogging both Katie Boulter and Veronika Kudermetova.
By moving back ahead of Boulter, Raducanu is guaranteed to be back as the British No 1 next Monday, regardless of how the rest of her D.C. campaign goes.
However, the Brit will likely fancy her chances of reaching the last four when she takes on world No 90 Maria Sakkari in Friday's quarter-final.
The pair have met three times in WTA Tour action and Raducanu has won all three meetings, with the Brit yet to drop a single set to the Greek.
Raducanu beat Sakkari in the last four of the US Open in 2021, ultimately going on to take the title, and then beat the former No 3 at Wimbledon in 2024, and in Dubai earlier this season.
"We've played a few times in the past, but I think these conditions really suit her [Sakkari] - they're quite lively," added Raducanu.
"I think she enjoys playing here - she's made the final here - so I'm expecting a really difficult match. She took out the second seed yesterday, so she's in great form.
"I just need to rest up, recover, get out there, and do my best."
Defeat for Osaka means that she misses her own chance to surge further up the WTA Rankings, though she is still provisionally up two places to world No 49 as things stand.
The four-time Grand Slam champion is set to return to action at the Canadian Open in Montreal.
