China Open 2019: Friday Tennis Scores, Results and Updated Draw Schedule

No. 1 seeds Dominic Thiem and Ash Barty advanced at the 2019 China Open on Friday, with the former seeing off Andy Murray in Beijing.

The latter overcame Petra Kvitova in three sets and will be joined in the semi-finals by Kiki Bertens and Caroline Wozniacki, who beat Elina Svitolina and Daria Kasatkina, respectively.

In arguably the match of the day, fourth seed Naomi Osaka came back from a set down to get the better of fifth seed Bianca Andreescu.

Alexander Zverev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Karen Khachanov will also be in the men's final four after they picked up wins over Sam Querrey, John Isner and Fabio Fognini, respectively.

China Open, Friday Results

Men's Draw 

(3) Stefanos Tsitsipas bt. John Isner: 7-6 (3), 6-3

(1) Dominic Thiem bt. Andy Murray: 6-2, 7-6 (3)

(4) Karen Khachanov bt. (6) Fabio Fognini: 3-6, 6-3, 6-1

(2) Alexander Zverev bt. Sam Querrey: 7-6 (3), 6-2

Women's Draw

(16) Caroline Wozniacki bt. Daria Kasatkina: 6-3, 7-6 (5)

(8) Kiki Bertens bt. (3) Elina Svitolina: 7-6 (6), 6-2

(1) Ash Barty bt. (7) Petra Kvitova: 4-6, 6-4, 6-3

(4) Naomi Osaka bt. (5) Bianca Andreescu: 5-7, 6-3, 6-4

For the full results and draw, visit the competition website.

Friday Recap

Murray only won two games in his first set against Thiem, but the scoreline did not reflect how competitive a contest it was:

Thiem broke Murray in the opening game of the second set, albeit he benefited from some good fortune at break point as a net cord went his way.

Murray was fortunate himself later on, though, when Thiem—serving for the match at 5-4—conjured three double-faults to allow him to break back.

Murray took the set to a tiebreaker, but the Austrian proved too strong.

Sports writer Graham Ruthven was encouraged by Murray's performance as he continues his return from hip surgery:

French Open champion Barty had a tough match against two-time Wimbledon winner Kvitova, who entered the match with a 4-1 head-to-head lead over the Australian.

The No. 7 seed edged out the first set thanks to an early break courtesy of a sublime backhand winner, but Barty saved five break points on her way to winning the second.

Kvitova broke the 23-year-old early in the third but was immediately broken back:

A pair of errors from the Czech handed Barty another break, and the No. 1 seed eventually sealed the win after Kvitova had saved three match points.

WTA Insider put the win in perspective:

The final match of the day was the standout one, as Andreescu and Osaka played out a thriller.

The first set was a sign of things to come, as there was little between the two stars. Eventually, it was Andreescu who held her nerve the better, edging the opener 7-5 by winning some clutch points.

Osaka clung on though and this exquisite lob was part of a five-game sequence that saw her take the second set:

Devin Heroux of CBC commented on how good Andreescu's record is when it comes to these close encounters:

Andreescu looked as though she was going to extend that record after going a break and 3-1 up. However, as was the case in the second set, Osaka was able to dig deep and respond, winning four of the next five games and putting herself in a position to serve for the match.

After a tense final game, the Japanese eventually seized a match point to move into the semi-finals.

There was nothing to separate Tsitsipas and Isner in their first set, which went to a tiebreaker after some excellent serving from both players. A break early in the second would prove decisive for the Greek.

Per Record's Jose Morgado, the 21-year-old finds himself in a familiar position in the final four:

Bertens enjoyed a somewhat similar victory against Svitolina, overcoming her opponent in a tiebreaker before easing through a more comfortable second set.

The Dutchwoman's victory saw her pull level in her head-to-head with Svitolina at 2-2.