Rublev, Pegula win to book spots in U.S. Open quarterfinals

American Jessica Pegula breezed through Petra Kvitova winning in straight sets 6-3, 6-2, and advanced to her third Grand Slam quarterfinal of the season.

Andrey Rublev reached his sixth Grand Slam quarterfinal by beating Cam Norrie 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in a match delayed by about 25 minutes while the retractable roof at Louis Armstrong Stadium remained open during a downpour.

The No. 9-seeded Rublev is into his third quarterfinal at Flushing Meadows. But he is 0-2 at that stage in New York — and 0-5 at all majors.

Rublev next faces 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal or 24-year-old American Frances Tiafoe, who were scheduled to meet later Monday.

No. 7 Norrie was trying to reach the second Grand Slam quarterfinal of his career — and of this year. He lost in the Wimbledon semifinals to eventual champion Novak Djokovic in July.

Pegula reaches third major quarterfinal of 2022

Jessica Pegula eliminated two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova 6-3, 6-2 to get to her third major quarterfinal of 2022 and reach that round for the first time at Flushing Meadows.

Play was held up for about 45 minutes at 1-1 in the first set while rain fell. There is a retractable roof at Arthur Ashe Stadium, but it wasn't closed until after a downpour soaked the court.

The U.S. Tennis Association said in a statement that its “weather team” told U.S. Open organizers there was no rain expected. The statement added: “Unfortunately, a pop-up sunshower occurred.”

The No. 8-seeded Pegula is the highest-ranked American woman and the only player in the top 10 in both singles and doubles.

She reeled off the last three games of Monday's opening set, which ended with a double-fault by No. 21 Kvitova, and then the last six games of the fourth-round match after trailing 2-0 in the second set.

Pegula is a 28-year-old who was born in New York. Her parents own the NFL's Buffalo Bills and NHL's Buffalo Sabres.

She is 0-3 in Grand Slam quarterfinals so far, including losses at that stage at the Australian Open in January and the French Open in June. The loss in Paris came against No. 1-ranked Iga Swiatek, who could be Pegula's next opponent at Flushing Meadows.

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