World number one Iga Swiatek moved confidently into the US Open quarter-finals with a straight-set victory over Liudmila Samsonova.
The 23-year-old Pole was made to work by 16th seed Samsonova in the first set but came through in style for a 6-4 6-1 win.
It is just the second time Swiatek has reached the last eight at Flushing Meadows – she went on to lift the trophy on the previous occasion in 2022.
Five-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek will face American sixth seed Jessica Pegula in the quarter-finals on Wednesday.
“At the beginning, I felt like we were playing men’s style, just holding our serves but I knew that if I kept pushing I may get some chances to break,” Swiatek said.
“That happened and I’m happy I was there to close [the first set]. Then I just wanted to keep being focused and not let my mind drift off.
“I’m happy with the whole performance. I’m feeling better and better every day.”
A closely-contested first set saw Samsonova save two break points to keep it on serve until the 10th game.
Swiatek had shown flashes of brilliance but, with the set there to be won, put all her tools together and claimed it with a break to love.
There was no stopping her in the second set and Samsonova was no match for her combination of speed around the court and powerful, precise shot-making.
The Russian held serve at 5-0 down to avoid the dreaded ‘bagel’ but Swiatek, who did not offer up a single break opportunity in the match, served it out to advance.
Pegula feeling ‘less pressure’ to break quarter-final hoodoo
Pegula reached the last eight after she opened play on the main show court with a 6-4 6-2 win over Russia’s Diana Shnaider.
It is a seventh Grand Slam quarter-final for Pegula, who has never made it beyond that stage.
“I’ll just try to draw on that experience and how maybe I’ve handled it in the past and what I’m looking to try and do mentally different this time,” she said.
“Maybe the only difference is I had kind of a tough start to the year, so I think I’m a little bit more appreciative of being able to turn it around the last month.
“I feel maybe a little less pressure in a way.”
Unseeded Karolina Muchova is also into the quarter-finals after she upset fifth seed Jasmine Paolini.
Muchova, who made the semi-finals in New York in 2023, came back from a 3-1 first-set deficit to beat the Italian 6-3 6-3.
Paolini, 28, has had a breakout 2024, reaching the final of both the French Open and Wimbledon.
However, Muchova was dominant on serve, dropping just five points behind it.
Muchova lost to Swiatek in the 2023 French Open final and reached the final four of the US Open three months later, losing to eventual champion Coco Gauff.
But a wrist injury kept her out of action for 10 months but she is now finding her best form again.
“This was my worst and most serious injury I would say but I love the sport,” added Muchova.
“I’m really grateful to all the people that helped me and I’m just a really happy kid now.”
She will next play 22nd seed Beatriz Haddad Maia after the Brazilian won 6-2 3-6 6-3 against former world number one Caroline Wozniacki.
Haddad Maia, who reached the semi-finals of the French Open last year, led 5-1 and was then serving for the opening set at 5-2 when the match was delayed.
There had been a fire alarm in the building where the Hawk-Eye system was being controlled and play could not restart until the officials had returned there.
When play resumed, 28-year-old Haddad Maia quickly clinched the set and started off the second set by breaking Wozniacki’s serve.
But the 34-year-old Dane, a two-time US Open finalist, fought back by winning four games in a row to force a decider.
Haddad Maia quickly gained the advantage with an early break and Wozniacki was not able to recover.
The success meant Haddad Maia became the first Brazilian player to reach the quarter-finals of the women’s singles at the US Open since Maria Bueno in 1968.
