Jessica Pegula delivered another big performance in Austin and she reached the semifinal after dismantling Anna Blinkova 6-2 6-2.
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In the first set, the No. 1 seed lost her serve once but it wasn't an issue at all since she broke the world No. 74 three times to still easily win the opener.
Up by a set, the American kept with the same intensity and it didn't take long before she opened a dominant 5-1 second-set lead.
While Pegula missed out on two match points in the seventh game, she remained calm and routinely closed out the match on her serve in the eighth game.
A round earlier, the world No. 4 also lost a total of four games after ousting Nuria Parrizas Diaz 6-1 6-3.
Now, the American favorite is set to battle Ajla Tomljanovic for a place in the Austin final.
Pegula close to winning her first title of 2025 after an odd situation
As you probably know, the Austin organizers found themselves in a weird situation after Madison Keys won the Australian Open and got back into the top-10.
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Per WTA rules, only one top-10 player is allowed to compete in a WTA 250 tournament.
Ultimately, Pegula - who was the initial top-10 player on the list - was selected.
But Keys was ready in case the world No. 4 decided to skip the event.
I know she (Keys) did want to come play here, because she kept asking me if I was going to play, and if not, you know, I pulled out and she takes the log," the Austin top seed explained earlier this week.
"She would still want to come here, but I think it just kind of depends on the player.
I think with all the 500 tournaments we have, a lot of them have been upgraded as well, trying to make the tournaments bigger, with more points, more prize money.
