Madison Keys comfortably beat Jessica Pegula in straight sets on Monday to earn a spot in the US Open quarterfinals.
Keys won 6-1 6-3 against world No. 3 Pegula and reach her second straight grand slam quarterfinal – she reached the same stage at Wimbledon earlier in the year.
Pegula had entered the tournament as one of the favorites after an impressive buildup to the tournament, but she was never able to create a head of steam against her compatriot.
World No. 17 Keys will face reigning Wimbledon champion Markéta Vondroušová in the next round.
During her on court interview following her victory, Keys said that playing in the US Open always motivates her to perform at her best.
“Absolutely, I’ve had so many amazing moments in New York,” Keys said. “Being able to, at any moment, come back from difficult positions in matches, in front of these crowds, has been amazing.”
Beating the home favorite
Pegula – born in Buffalo, New York, and whose parents are the owners of the NFL franchise, the Buffalo Bills – was the home crowd’s favorite against Florida resident Keys.
However, even with the majority in attendance at the Arthur Ashe Stadium cheering her on, Pegula never looked settled against Keys.
It resulted in a rampant opening set for the 28-year-old Keys, dropping just one game as she raced into a set lead to put her stamp on their fourth-round clash.
Pegula did show hints of a fight-back in the second set, but it was to no avail and Keys was able to break serve again to grasp control of the match.
Consistent unforced errors continued to extinguish any hopes Pegula had of mounting a comeback, with Keys able to close out the impressive victory in just 61 minutes.
For Keys – a finalist at the US Open in 2017 – it marks the first time that she has made the last eight of consecutive majors since the Australian Open and Roland Garros in 2018.
It is also her first win over a top five seed at a grand slam since beating Barbora Krejčíková in the 2022 Australian Open quarterfinals.
