Top seed Pegula into quarters vs. Azarenka, Navarro upset by Cristian

After a nail-biting first round, Jessica Pegula was in full flight on a windy Thursday afternoon at the Credit One Charleston Open.

The world No.5 didn’t face a break point in the 59-minute affair against Poland’s Magda Linette, winning 6-2 6-2 on Credit One Stadium and filling the first of eight quarterfinal spots.

She’ll meet former world No.1 Victoria Azarenka for a spot in the semifinals, the 34-year-old withstanding a two-hour, 46-minute battle against Taylor Townsend, 6-7(5) 6-3 6-4 on Althea Gibson Club Court.

Former champion Daria Kasatkina was in fine form, beating Anhelina Kalinina 6-1 6-4 on Court 3. While she was meant to meet No.10 seed and Charleston native Emma Navarro, Navarro couldn’t overcome a tricky Jaqueline Cristian, the Romanian who took out Madison Keys in the previous round.

The world No.83 beat Navarro 6-3 5-7 6-1 to earn her third career Top 20 victory – and second in a row.

On Tuesday night, Pegula needed a third-set tiebreak to overcome Amanda Anisimova in the second round. Things flowed much easier on Thursday, she said.

“Especially after having a really, really tough match where I felt like it had everything in it… it’s nice to get a quicker, easier win today,” Pegula said,

“Even though it wasn’t easy, it’s just mentally nice to know you can… feel good stepping off the court.”

The rollercoaster comes to an end ❇️

🇷🇴 Jaqueline Cristian upsets Navarro 6-3, 5-7, 6-1 to reach the quarterfinals on her debut at the #CharlestonOpen! pic.twitter.com/aBd2Vo6oCD

— Credit One Charleston Open (@CharlestonOpen) April 4, 2024