Sixth seed Jessica Pegula knocked out defending champion Madison Keys in the all-American showdown at the Australian Open tennis tournament.
Pegula secured a dominant victory to reach the quarterfinals at Melbourne Park for the fourth time.
Pegula made a blistering start at Rod Laver Arena.
She continued in her relentless way, cruising to a 6-3, 6-4 victory.
The 31-year-old, who made three consecutive Melbourne quarterfinals from 2021 to 2023, is chasing an elusive Grand Slam title after reaching the US Open final in 2024.
For defending champion, Keys, who stunned heavy favourite Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s final for her maiden Slam title, it’s the end of the road.
Her triumph has set up a clash with another American, fourth seed Amanda Anisimova.
Anisimova maintained her Grand Slam momentum by beating China’s Wang Xinyu 7-6, 6-4 to reach her first Australian Open quarterfinal.
In another fourth round match, Elena Rybakina defeated Elise Mertens of Belgium 6-1, 6-3 in a match that lasted one hour and 17 minutes.
–SABC–
