OSAKA, Japan - Unseeded Italian Camila Giorgi needed little more than an hour to upset No. 3 seed Sloane Stephens in the second round of the Toray Pan Pacific Open.

After winning the first eight games, Giorgi scored her third career victory in five meetings against the 2017 US Open champion by a final score of 6-0, 6-3.

A semiifnalist at last year's tournament, held in Tokyo, the Italian No. 1 needed 75 minutes to seal her spot in the last eight. She booked her third quarterfinal appearance in her last six events, where she'll face Belgian Elise Mertens. 

"It was a good match for sure and I was able to play my game, show off my attacking style and be consistent," Giorgi said after the match.

"When I play I always focus on myself. I only made a few mistakes. That’s always been my way, ever since I was little, to attack, to go forward, to put the pressure on. This surface suits my game, too."

Landing just 39 percent of her first serves in the opening set, Giorgi nonetheless did not lose a point when she got one into play, which set the tone for the encounter overall. 

The Italian overcame an up-and-down afternoon on serve with ruthless accuracy off the ground, as she hammered 23 winners to 21 unforced over the course of the match, despite only landing 38 percent of first serves and totaling 11 double faults.


Quick out of the gates, she broke Stephens and held with the loss of just two points, and sealed three deuce games in the final four to take a first set bagel. 

Her form continued well into the second set, as she again won the first two games to hold on to a lead that she never relinquished.

The World No. 54 saved three break points in a key sixth game of the second set, where she lengthened her lead to 4-2, a hold which proved cruical as the World No. 14 sought to find a way back into the match. 

Giorgi dropped serve for the first time as she served for the win at 6-0, 5-2, serving two double faults in the game.

Despite not reaching match point on her serve, a mammoth final game went her way, as she sealed a sixth break of Stephens' serve for the victory on her fourth match point.

Now owning a winning head-to-head against Stephens, Giorgi will next face Mertens for the first time as she seeks a spot in her second straight semifinal at the Toray Pan Pacific Open. 

"All matches are completely different," the Italian said of playing Mertens. "I need to concentrate on myself and keep going. I focus on my own game but I’m looking forward to the match."