Jessica Pegula cruises into U.S. Open quarterfinals

Jessica Pegula made short work of her Round of 16 match on Monday and advanced to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Diana Shnaider in New York.

Pegula, the No. 6 seed, reached the quarterfinals in a Grand Slam event for the seventh time and second time at a U.S. Open (2022). The Buffalo, N.Y., native and Florida resident has never advanced to a Grand Slam semifinal in singles.

"I feel like there's been more pressure this year, because I did so well coming into this tournament," Pegula said. "I want to keep working my way and hopefully bringing my best tennis for the later rounds this time."

Pegula, 30, broke Shnaider's serve in the third game of the opening set, immediately was broken back and then seized control with another break in the fifth game to take a 3-2 lead. Pegula broke Shnaider's serve twice more in the second set to finish the victory.

The No. 18 seed Shnaider, a Russia native, won just 59 percent of her first-serve points and saw Pegula deliver six aces to one of her own.

Pegula is now 13-1 since the North American hard-court season began, winning at Canada and reaching the final at Cincinnati.

Pegula's reward is a date with No. 1 seed Iga Swiatek of Poland. Swiatek eased past No. 16 Liudmila Samsonova of Russia 6-4, 6-1 on Monday.

It marked Swiatek's 100th career match in a Grand Slam event. Her record in those matches improved to an impressive 83-17.

"Jess is never easy to play," Swiatek said of her next opponent. "She has a tricky game style so I have to be ready for longer rallies. She's a great player, so for sure it's going to be a challenge."

Unseeded Karolina Muchova of Czechia also advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-3, 6-3 upset victory over Italy's Jasmine Paolini, the No. 5 seed.

Muchova, who reached the 2023 French Open final and the 2023 U.S. Open semifinals, missed 10 months after right wrist surgery last October.

"This was my worst and most serious injury, I would say," Muchova said. "But, I mean, I love the sport, so in my head, I was like, ‘I will do everything I could to (get) better and try.' And here I am today. I'm just a really happy kid now."

Muchova had 17 winners to 10 for Paolini and won 82 percent of her first-serve points.

Paolini had the early advantage by breaking Muchova's serve early in the match and taking a 3-1 lead in the opening set. But Muchova rallied to break Paolini twice in the first set and two more times in the second set before closing out the match.

Muchova's quarterfinal foe will be No. 22 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil, who defeated Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. Haddad Maia saved 13 of 16 break points (81.3 percent) and won 17 of 19 points at the net (89.5 percent).

--Field Level Media