jim lumsden, bbc news.kori is through to the quarter—finals of the japan open. the number three seed is bidding to win the title for the third time, and he sealed his place in the last eight with a straight—sets victory over frenchman benoit paire. nishikori, who last won this event in 2014, came through 6—3, 7—5, and he'll now face stefanos tsitsipas or alex di minaur. there was also a victory for the number two seed kevin anderson, but he had to come from a set down to beat australia's matthew ebden. this was a first round match, and anderson plays frances tiafoe of the usa next. former england captain andrew strauss has stepped down as england's director of cricket after 3.5 years in the role. strauss had taken a break in may after his wife entered a new period of treatment for cancer. andy flower, who's covered for him, will continue in an interim role before a full—time replacement is found. the former england captain says 2019 as a year is potentially the most important the game has had in this countr

jim lumsden rounds up thursday's action.se bemoaning the lack of depth in women's tennis look no further than naomi osaka, the form player. last month she stunned serena williams in a memorable us open final. she has confirmed in next month's tour finals and her progress in beijing continued on thursday. the 20—year—old eighth seed was rarely troubled, racing through the match 61, 6—2 in little over an hour. the japanese player has only dropped four games in the last two rounds, and next in the osa firing line is naomi osaka, who knocked out angelique kerber. the player took the first set 6—1 before the number two seed made it one set all, but that took all her power and zhang won the third set 6—0 to move into the quarter—finals. the australian open champion wozniacki had lost, but not today, the world number two cruised through the second set 6—4, and she will play cibulkova in the last eight. in the men's draw, there was a shock defeat for the number two seed alexander zverev. he was beaten in three sets by malekjaziri. t

jim lumsden reports. ‘s sloane stephens record at the china open isn't great.ight sets, she moved into the last 16 and completed her first consecutive victory in beijing for five years its top issues also on course to play in the wta finals, has a little bit more work to do to guarantee a place. angelique kerber had booked tickets to the finals and she saw off carla suarez navarro in straight sets to reach the last 16 in china. three—time grand slam winner is also one of the favourites for the finals title. former french open champion jelena ostapenko suffered the dreaded double bay. the home favourite arrived in beijing as one of the form players, having won 14 of the form players, having won 14 of her past 17 matches and she thrashed jelena ostapenko, troubled bya thrashed jelena ostapenko, troubled by a wrist problem. in the men's draw, juan martin del potro of argentina is bidding for his third title of the season. he began his campaign with minimal fuss, title of the season. he began his campaign with minimalfuss, winning 7-5, 6-2. campaign with minimalfus

jim lumsden rounds up thursday's action.