Coco Gauff is tracking nicely ahead of another crack at the US Open, the No.2 seed securing her place in the quarter-finals in Cincinnati with a 6-2 6-4 win over Lucia Bronzetti.
The American, who was awarded a walkover by Dayana Yastremska in the previous round, took just 79 minutes to beat the Italian and reach the last eight of a tournament for the first time since claiming her second grand slam at the French Open.
"For the most part I played aggressive. Maybe got a bit passive in some of those games. But it's tough. The balls are super light and they fly," the 2023 US Open winner said.
"She wasn't giving me much pace. I was trying to play with control but also aggressive. I think I did well. I missed a couple balls. But I learned from it and was able to close it out."
Gauff will next face another Italian in seventh seed Jasmine Paolini, who swept past Barbora Krejcikova 6-1 6-2.
It was the pair's first meeting since the 2024 Wimbledon final and Czech Krejcikova needed medical treatment on her left foot when trailing 3-0 in the second set.
"I think she wasn't at 100 per cent, but she's an unbelievable player," Paolini said afterwards.
"She can put the ball wherever she wants every time, I don't know how she does this. But I'm happy that I tried to stay there mentally until the last point."
French qualifier Varvara Gracheva also went through, beating German Ella Seidel 2-6 6-1 6-1 to reach her first WTA 1000 quarter-final.
Gracheva takes on Veronika Kudermetova in the last eight after the Russian ousted Poland's Magda Linette, 6-4 6-3.
