Roland Garros champion Krejcikova powers past Muguruza to reach US Open quarterfinal

In a battle between French Open titlists, reigning champion Barbora Krejcikova fought past 2016 champion Garbine Muguruza to reach the quarterfinals of the 2021 US Open.

Krejcikova looked composed in her 6-3 7-6(4) victory over Muguruza, employing precise serve placement with a variety of groundstrokes to confound her opponent. The Czech star was efficient from the baseline, hitting 29 winners as she outplayed her Spanish opponent before taking the first set.

The second set saw the World No.9 race to a 4-1 lead, before Muguruza broke back to keep things close at 4-3. A second break saw the Spaniard level the score, as she obtained a 6-5 lead. It was at this point that Krejcikova took a medical timeout, before returning to level the score at 6-6 and force a tiebreak.

Perhaps disrupted by the lengthy break, a visibly frustrated Muguruza lost the first three points of the tiebreak as the errors flew off her racket. With momentum on her side, Krejcikova was able to close out the match after almost two hours.

The eighth seed will play Aryna Sabalenka for a spot in the semifinals, as the World No.2 cruised past 15th-seeded Elise Mertens in their fourth round encounter earlier in the day.