Jessica Pegula produced a dominant performance to defeat fellow American Ann Li 6-1, 6-2 to qualify for the 2025 US Open quarter-finals.
She is yet to drop a set in the tournament this year; the three games she dropped were her fewest in a US Open match in her career.
Pegula was too strong for her rival, who could only hold serve on two out of eight attempts and produced a costly 19 unforced errors.
The fourth seed has now won 15 consecutive matches against players outside the top 50 at the US Open, with her last loss occurring six years ago against Alizé Cornet.
It is the second year in a row she has reached the last eight in New York and the third overall.
She defeated Mayer Sherif of Egypt 6-0, 6-4 in the opening round and Russian Anna Blinkova 6-1, 6-3. Pegula had a tougher time against Victoria Azarenka of Belarus but was able to overcome the challenge, winning 6-1, 7-5.
Pegula described her victory over Li as crazy while looking forward to her quarter-final clash.
She said, “I played her at Roland Garros earlier this year, and we had a really tough two sets. I know when she’s serving really well, she has a lot of confidence.
“I felt like she maybe came out a little slow or nervous or whatever it was, and I wanted to jump on top of that and not let her feel comfortable on this court.
“I felt like I was seeing the ball and coming in at the right times.
“It doesn’t always feel that good, but I felt today I started off really well, and I just wanted to keep executing that up until the very last game. I feel like it’s a part of my game that I can really use as a weapon.
“Sometimes it’s tough because I’m so good from the back (of the court). I kind of get stuck back, so it kind of depends on the match and how I’m feeling.”
She will take on the current doubles world No. 1, Taylor Townsend, or two-time Grand Slam champion Barbora Krejcikova.
Pegula has won nine singles titles and seven doubles titles on the WTA Tour, including three WTA 1000 titles in singles and two in doubles.
