Swiatek match into quarter finals, set Pegula showdown

Iga Swiatek defeated 16th-seeded Liudmila Samsonova 6-4, 6-1 in the Round of 16 on Monday night, securing her spot in her second US Open and her first since her 2022 championship attempt.

Top-seeded Swiatek, 26, is one of three players in the top half of the draw to advance without dropping a set. On Wednesday, she’ll take on the fierce No. 6 Jessica Pegula.

“Against Jessie, it’s never easy,” Swiatek said. “It’s going to be, for sure, a tough one, because she plays a really flat ball with no spin. You have to really work low on your legs.

“For sure she’s in a good rhythm right now, and she won so many matches the past weeks, that for sure it’s going to be a challenge.”

In the other quarterfinal in the upper half, Karolina Muchova, the semifinalist from the previous year, will play Cleveland finalist Beatriz Haddad Maia in an exciting match. After defeating former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki on Monday, the Brazilian moved on to her first-ever US Open quarterfinal.

World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka and No. 7 Zheng Qinwen, who won gold at the Paris 2024 Olympics last month, will rematch in the Australian Open final in the bottom half of the draw. Zheng has now won two major rematches in a row after defeating Donna Vekic in a rematch of the Olympic final.

Rounding out the high-stakes showdowns are two New York-born baseliners who have powered their way to a first US Open quarterfinal. Washington D.C. champion Paula Badosa will look to ride her summer surge to a first major semifinal when she takes on 13th-seed Emma Navarro.