No. 4 seed Jessica Pegula, runner-up at the 2024 US Open, reached the meadow quarter-finals for the second year in a row, beating American-American Anne Li 6-1, 6-2 in just 54 minutes on Sunday.
Pegra, who started day sessions at Arthur Ash Stadium, had not dropped a set at this year’s tournament and had not stayed in court for more than an hour or more than 15 minutes.
The three games she dropped against Li were the fewest in the US open matches of her career. Throughout the fourth round, Pegra lost just 17 games.
Pegura was 6-0 in the quarterfinals of the Grand Slam, but disrupted Iga Swiatek in that round last year. She reached the final, where she was defeated by Aryna Sabalenka.
Li, one of five American women to reach the 16 rounds, was the best player Pegra faced in the tournament, but the 25-year-old made his first appearance in the majors in the 16 rounds. Pegra broke all four times she served in the first set of 25 minutes, with only five winners in the match against 19 forced errors.
Pegula excels in her native tournaments, with the most female tour players since its launch in 2020, winning 85 WTA matches in US soil.
Pegra will face two-time Grand Slam champion Barbora Klezikova or another American Taylor Townsend on Tuesday.
ESPN research and Associated Press contributed to this report.
