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E-mail Xinhua, September 4, 2024
Iga Swiatek and Jessica Pegula set up a women's singles quarterfinal encounter at the US Open on Monday, while Jannik Sinner will face Daniil Medvedev on the men's side.
Top-ranked Swiatek defeated Liudmila Samsonova 6-4, 6-1, while Pegula overcame Diana Shnaider 6-4, 6-2.
"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," said Swiatek.
"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," added the Pole.
Swiatek enjoys a 6-3 head-to-head advantage over Pegula, who nevertheless has been riding on a strong run recently, including her runner-up finish at last month's Cincinnati Open.
"I feel like there's been more pressure this year because I've come into this tournament in such good form. I want to keep working my way and hopefully bring my best tennis for the later rounds this time," said Pegula.
Despite high hopes of local audiences, American Tommy Paul could not thwart top seed Sinner, who prevailed 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5), 6-1.
Sinner will contend for a semifinal spot against fifth-seeded Medvedev. The two players have previously faced each other on 12 occasions, with Medvedev leading with seven wins.
Sinner expected the duo's next encounter to be tough. "It's going to be a lot of rallies, so hopefully I'll be ready physically. It's going to be a physical match, also a mental match."
"I won in Australia, he then won in Wimbledon. That was five sets. So hopefully it's going to be a good match. We'll try to do our best on court, hopefully you guys enjoy the next one, and then we'll see how it goes," said the Italian.
