Top seed Karolina Pliskova bulldozed her way into the Tianjin Open quarter-finals by beating Slovenian Polona Hercog 6-1 6-2 on Wednesday as the Czech power-hitter eyes a place at the WTA Finals later this month.
Pliskova, currently holding eighth spot in the Race to Singapore standings, must reach the semi-finals in Tianjin to secure one of the three available qualifying places for the season-ending tournament starting on October 21.
The world No.7's 50-minute win came after a powerful start and she claimed 80 percent of her first-serve points.
"I'm just happy that I didn't spend that much time on the court today and I can rest a little bit and prepare for my next match," Pliskova said.
Fellow Czech Barbora Krejcikova or Briton Katie Boulter awaits Pliskova in the last eight.
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Fourth seed Aryna Sabalenka, who must lift the Tianjin trophy to maintain her slim chances of a WTA Finals debut, beat Poland's Magda Linette 6-1 6-3 to reach the last eight.
"I was thinking I need to win this tournament - but at the moment I don't care about Singapore," the Belarusian said. "At the moment I'm focused on each match."
Wuhan champion Sabalenka produced a string of powerful groundstrokes, giving her opponent no chance to find her rhythm.
The 20-year-old will face either Swiss Timea Bacsinszky or Japanese qualifier Misaki Doi in the quarter-finals.
