Second seed Simona Halep has moved into the China Open semi-finals to keep alive her hopes of reaching the No.1 ranking with a 6-2 6-1 win over Daria Kasatkina.
The Romanian needs to reach the Beijing final, and not lose to third-seeded Elena Svitolina, to bump No.1 Garbine Muguruza from top spot.
Halep has never been No.1 but has had a few missed opportunities, most notably in June's French Open final loss to Jelena Ostapenko.
Her run in Beijing has included a 6-2 6-2 win over Maria Sharapova, to end a seven-match losing streak to the Russian, including a first-round upset last month at the US Open.
Halep's quarter-final victory on Friday over 34th-ranked Kasatkina avenged a straight-sets loss in their last outing last week at the Wuhan Open.
In the semi-finals, she'll play ninth-seeded Ostapenko.
The Latvian beat Sorana Cirstea of Romania 6-4 6-4.
No.12 seed Petra Kvitova has also advanced to the last four, accounting for fellow Czech Barbora Strycova 6-3 6-4.
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