Iga Shiantek changed her outfit after a modest start to defeat Chinese player Qing Chen Wen 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 on Thursday, setting up a quarterfinal match at the Cincinnati Open against Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova. Second-ranked Aryna Sabalenka also reached the quarterfinals after winning 6-3, 6-3 against Russian Daria Kasatkina; however, third-ranked Jessica Pegula and fourth-ranked Elena Rybakina saw their tournament runs come to an end.
Pegula, who was the Canadian Open champion last week and has won 27 matches on hard courts this season, lost 6-4, 6-0 in a rain-interrupted match against Czech player Maria Bouzkova, who improved her record against the American to two wins and four losses.
Unlike her first match in the tournament where she lost only one game, Shiantek took time to read her opponent, then delivered the level of play that has kept her at the top of the WTA rankings since April 2022. The Chinese player raced to a 3-0 lead with two breaks of serve on a windy day and extended her advantage with a third break to take the first set after Shiantek hit a forehand long.
Shiantek changed her outfit from white to black, and her performance changed as well, breaking her opponent's serve three times without losing a point in those games to lead 5-0 before closing out the set. Shiantek broke her opponent's serve twice in the third set to lead 5-0 before winning the match on her serve when her opponent hit a forehand out of bounds.
Regarding her outfit change, Shiantek said, "Honestly, the reason for this is my coach. He told me two months ago that changing my outfit could be a smart idea after losing a set, as if you start from the beginning and approach the second set differently." She added, "I thought it was a bad idea, but I tried it this time and it worked, so thank you, coach."
In the next round, Shiantek will face Vondrousova, who took advantage of four break opportunities out of five in her victory over American Sloane Stephens, winning 7-5, 6-3.
Rybakina, the fourth-ranked player, withdrew after winning the first set 6-4 and trailing 2-5 in the second, which allowed Italian qualifier Jasmine Paolini to advance to the quarterfinals. Greek player Maria Sakkari, the eighth seed, also advanced by defeating Czech player Karolina Muchova 3-6, 6-2, 6-3.
Tunisian player Ons Jabeur, the fifth seed, benefited from Croatian Donna Vekic's withdrawal while leading 5-2 in the first set. Jabeur, who reached the US Open final last year, will face Belarusian Sabalenka in a strong match for a spot in the semifinals.
In a matchup between two young players, American Coco Gauff (19 years old) defeated Czech Linda Noskova (18 years old) 6-4, 6-0 to meet Paolini in the quarterfinals. Karolina Muchova surprised eighth-seeded Maria Sakkari, winning 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 to face Bouzkova in an all-Czech encounter.
