NEW YORK: Jessica Pegula routed compatriot Ann Li in straight sets to march into the quarter-finals of the US Open on Sunday.

American fourth seed Pegula — chasing her first Grand Slam singles title after losing in the final in New York last year — cruised into the last eight with a 6-1, 6-2 victory.

The 31-year-old right-hander exploited Li’s problems on serve to coast to a win that sets up a quarter-final meeting against either Barbora Krejcikova or Taylor Townsend.

Li, ranked 58th in the world, was on the defensive from the first game, being broken immediately to hand Pegula an early advantage.

Pegula went on to break Li three more times to wrap up the first set in just 25 minutes.

Li was soon in trouble in the second set, being broken in the fourth game to go 3-1 down as Pegula closed in on victory.

Pegula clinched victory in the eighth game blasting a backhand service return down the line to break Li to love.

Pegula said she had opted to attack Li after sensing her opponent’s nerves early on.

“I played her at Roland Garros this year and we had a tough two sets,” Pegula said.

“When she’s serving well she’s really dangerous. But I felt she came out slow and nervous and I wanted to jump on top of that. That was my motivation the entire match.

“To make the second week wasn’t a goal as I haven’t been playing well,” added Pegula, referencing a poor run of recent form that saw her make early exits at hardcourt events in Washington, Montreal and Cincinnati.

On Saturday, Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek proved they are only human, showing that even the world’s best players sometimes have to work things out on the fly when pure talent is not enough.

Wimbledon champion Swiatek embodied the day’s theme of triumph through adversity, clawing her way back from 5-1 down in the opening set against Anna Kalinskaya before grinding out a 7-6(7/2), 6-4 victory.

The Pole was far from her sharpest in a scrappy, error-strewn contest. Nine breaks and 67 unforced errors by both players combined painted the picture of a match won through sheer bloody-mindedness, rather than sublime shot-making.

Yet Swiatek steadied herself at the key moments, saving four set points in the first set and breaking late in the second to notch her 20th major match win of the season and draw level with world number one Aryna Sabalenka.

Meanwhile, world number one Sinner showed similar resolve, surrendering the opening set to 27th seed Denis Shapovalov before rallying to prevail 5-7 6-4, 6-3, 6-3.

The victory extended the 24-year-old Italian’s unbeaten run at hardcourt Grand Slams to 24 matches.

But, not all the top seeds found the same winning formula.

Germany’s Alexander Zverev saw his tournament end in frustration as Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime rallied from a set down to win 4-6, 7-6(9/7), 6-4, 6-4.

Zverev grew increasingly rattled as the match slipped away, slamming his racket in frustration.

Tommy Paul was another casualty as the American 14th seed crashed out after a 7-6(7/5), 6-7(4/7), 6-3, 6-7(5/7), 6-1 defeat by Alexander Bublik in the final match of the day at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Bublik, the 23rd seed, will next face Sinner.

Earlier, Brazilian 18th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia hammered Maria Sakkari 6-1, 6-2 to set up a clash with up Amanda Anisimova.

Four-time major champion Noami Osaka overcame a mid-match wobble to overpower 15th seed Daria Kasatkina 6-0, 4-6, 6-3.

Published in Dawn, September 1st, 2025