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China's Zhang broke Kerber's serve five times
and fired 22 winners to seal the victory in an hour and 27
minutes in her second meeting with the German.
"I can defeat a former number one, a Grand Slam champion, this
is something I'm proud of for the rest of my life," an elated
Zhang said.
The 29-year-old looked in complete control against Kerber,
cruising through the first set before the German leveled the
contest.
Yet Kerber struggled to keep her unforced errors count down,
making 36 in the match, and her challenge ended in a final set
rout.
Up next for Zhang is U.S. Open champion Osaka, who thumped Julia
Goerges 6-1 6-2 and described the performance as her best of the
tournament so far.
"I know I played well today, better than all the other days,"
Osaka said. "Key today was staying focused and trying to return
well because we both have really good serves."
Zhang has a 2-2 win-loss record against Osaka and beat the
Japanese player in their last meeting in Madrid this season.
China's Wang Qiang advanced with a 6-4 6-4 win over world number
seven Karolina Pliskova in an hour and 37 minutes while Kiki
Bertens of the Netherlands crashed out after a 6-4 6-3 defeat by
Katerina Siniakova.
Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki clinched a place in
the season-ending tournament alongside Petra Kvitova after
beating Estonia's Anett Kontaveit 7-5 6-4.
The in-form Aryna Sabalenka knocked out defending champion
Caroline Garcia 5-7 7-6(3) 6-0.
(Reporting by Manas Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Toby Davis)
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