Miami, March 24 (IANS) Jessica Pegula and Elena Rybakina delivered commanding performances to book their places in the Miami Open quarterfinals, each cruising through their matches in straight sets at Hard Rock Stadium.

Fifth seed Pegula was first on court and produced a highly efficient display against Jaqueline Cristian. The American dominated on serve, not facing a single break point, while capitalising on four of her 13 break chances to secure a 6-4, 6-1 victory in just over an hour.

The win not only improved Pegula’s head-to-head record against Cristian to 2-0, but also marked her fifth consecutive appearance in the Miami quarterfinals. In doing so, she became the first player to achieve that feat since Agnieszka Radwanska (2010–2014), and just the third American woman to reach five straight Miami quarterfinals, joining Chris Evert and Serena Williams.

“I thought I played really well today. I thought I served well, especially in the first set. Then I was able to return really well in the second set, and I was able to get that early break and just kind of hold on to that. I feel like I freed up a bit to return a little bit better going into the second, and I just kind of pressured her, and I felt like the last couple games went pretty quick. It seems like I was able to just keep that pressure on, so I'm happy with that today,” Pegula said after her win.

Later in the day, third seed Rybakina matched that level of control in her clash with Australian qualifier Talia Gibson. The reigning Australian Open champion was never under serious threat on serve and powered to a 6-2, 6-2 win in one hour and four minutes.

Despite the defeat, Gibson’s campaign capped an impressive run across the Sunshine Double. She became only the third player to reach the round of 16 at both Indian Wells and Miami in the same season as a qualifier or lucky loser, following Gisela Dulko and Varvara Gracheva.

Rybakina now holds a 5-3 edge over Pegula in their WTA Tour rivalry, having won their last four meetings over the past seven months.

“I think overall I served well all the matches I played here and also all these important moments I was staying aggressive and was winning these key moments during the matches. So, for now, it has been working well,” Rybakina said of her run to the last eight.

Looking ahead to the quarterfinal showdown, she added, “Definitely, I need to serve well. That's my biggest weapon and try to be fresh, move well, because here it's a little bit faster than last match we played in Indian Wells. The ball doesn't bounce as much. So, it's a bit challenging, I would say, but, I will try to do my best and hopefully win this match.”

--IANS

vi/