World number three Jessica Pegula was pushed all the way before emerging victorious 7-5 4-6 6-4 against Irina-Camelia Begu in Thursday's Charleston Open third round.

Pegula, the top-ranked American and the tournament's overall top seed, may have thought it was going to be smooth sailing after collecting a break-to-love in the match's opening game, but it was just the beginning of a two-hour-and-32-minute battle.

Begu played terrific tennis against a world-class opponent, winning 47 per cent of the match's total points, but she shot herself in the foot with eight double faults while Pegula had just one.

With the victory, Pegula booked her place in the quarter-final against Spain's Paula Badosa after her stylish 6-1 6-3 result over Russian 19-year-old Diana Shnaider.

Badosa now has a 4-2 record since the beginning of March, but both of those losses came to the in-form Elena Rybakina in eliminations from both the Indian Wells Open and the Miami Open.

Meanwhile, reigning Wimbledon and US Open finalist Ons Jabeur needed just 82 minutes to dispatch Caroline Dolehide 6-3 7-5, and combined with her opening victory against Lesia Tsurenko it is Jabeur's first consecutive wins since the Adelaide International in early January.

Jabeur will play Anna Kalinskaya in her quarter-final after the Russian upset two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka 6-4 7-6 (7-5).

It was a strong day for the Russians, as Ekaterina Alexandrova got the better of Julia Grabher 6-4 6-2, and world number eight Daria Kasatkina knocked out Bernarda Pera 6-3 7-6 (7-3).

Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic won the longest match of the day in a two-hour-and-45-minute war of attrition against Shelby Rogers 4-6 7-5 6-2, but the Americans had something to cheer for in the late window as Madison Keys advanced past Magda Linette 6-2 3-6 6-1.

Top seed Jessica Pegula cruised into the Charleston Open third round with a straight-sets victory over Anna Blinkova on Wednesday.

The American world number three triumphed 6-2 6-0 in 65 minutes, winning the second set to love in 27 minutes.

Blinkova, who is ranked 63rd in the world, was no match for Pegula, who won 71 per cent on first serve and 65 per cent on her second. Pegula also generated 10 break points, winning 71 per cent on the Russian's second serve.  

The American will take on Romanian 15th seed Irina-Camelia Begu in the round of 16, after she toppled resurgent 2020 Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin 6-1 6-4.

Defending champion and fourth seed Belinda Bencic triumphed in the evening session, breezing past Canada's Katherine Sebov 6-0 6-3 in 62 minutes.

Bencic will meet Shelby Rogers in the third round with the American edging countrywoman Caty McNally 6-7 (4-7) 7-5 6-1.

Ninth seed Madison Keys beat Hailey Baptiste 6-1 6-2, setting up a third-round clash with eighth seed Magda Linette who got past Varvara Gracheva 6-7 (3-7) 7-5 6-4.

Third seed Daria Kasatkina defeated Madison Brengle 6-2 6-1, progressing to face 38th ranked American Bernarda Para who beat Cristina Bucsa 6-3 6-4.

Spaniard Paula Badosa won 7-5 7-6 (8-6) over 2021 US Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez and will face Diana Shnaider who upset fifth seed Veronika Kudermetova 6-4 6-3.

Eugenie Bouchard's campaign at the Copa Colsanitas was halted in the second round with a 6-0 6-7 (7-9) 6-4 loss to fourth seed Kamilla Rakhimova.

Liudmila Samsonova progressed after a marathon battle at the Dubai Tennis Championships, while Petra Kvitova breezed through as the seeds escaped unscathed on Sunday.

Two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova, the 12th favourite in the United Arab Emirates, eased past Italy's Martina Trevisan 6-2 6-1 to make a dominant start.

World number 15 Samsonova was made to work to beat Paula Badosa, winning 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 to tee up a clash with Qinwen Zheng, who overcame compatriot Zhang Shuai in straight sets.

Samsonova's triumph took three hours and 22 minutes, the longest match of the WTA Tour season thus far, in a thrilling first-round encounter between two top-20 players.

"Playing against Paula is always tough," 14th seed Samsonova said in her on-court interview. "She's doing unbelievable, so I'm really proud that I stayed on the court until the end.

"I think I'm growing match after match, day by day. I know it's a long journey, and I hope to continue like that."

Barbora Krejcikova, the 2021 French Open champion, cruised into the last 32 with a comfortable 6-4 6-2 victory over Irina-Camelia Begu as she aims to go one better than her runners-up finish two years ago in Dubai.

Another routine victory saw American Madison Keys ease past Jasmine Paolini 6-1 6-1, but there was no such luck for 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin.

She was dispatched 6-1 6-1 by world number 26 Marie Bouzkova, while Amanda Anisimova claimed a 6-3 6-2 win over veteran two-time grand slam finalist Vera Zvonareva.

Viktoriya Tomova had too much for Kaia Kanepi in a 6-3 6-1 success, with her reward a second-round clash against third seed Jessica Pegula.

World number four Pegula lost to the in-form Iga Swiatek in the Qatar Ladies Open final on Saturday, and Leylah Fernandez will face the Pole next after beating Julia Grabher 6-4 6-2.

Iga Swiatek dragged Poland into the semi-finals of the United Cup with inspired performances in her singles and doubles matches against Italy.

Poland trailed after Lorenzo Musetti and Matteo Berrettini secured wins against Daniel Michalski and Hubert Hurkacz respectively, only for Swiatek and Magda Linette to level things with respective singles victories over Martina Trevisan and Lucia Bronzetti.

That sent the Brisbane city final to a decider in the mixed doubles, which Swiatek and Hurkacz won with ease 6-1 6-2 against Musetti and Camilla Rosatello, though there was a pause in the second set to dry rainfall on the court.

Despite defeat, Italy also advanced to the final four as the city finals loser with the best record.

It was more routine in Sydney as the United States eased to a 4-1 win against Great Britain.

Madison Keys came from a set down to beat Katie Swan, while Jessica Pegula eased past Harriet Dart 6-2 6-0 after Cameron Norrie had defeated Taylor Fritz in three sets.

Despite going a set behind, Frances Tiafoe came back to beat Dan Evans 3-6 7-5 6-3 to clinch the win for his country, before Pegula and Fritz added some gloss after beating Dart and Evans in the mixed doubles.

The third city final in Perth included a thriller as Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas beat Borna Coric 6-0 6-7 (4-7) 7-5. Donna Vekic had no trouble getting Croatia on the board as she eased past Despina Papamichail 6-2 6-0.

Maria Sakkari put Greece 2-1 ahead when she beat Petra Martic 6-3 6-3, but Borna Gojo defeated Stefanos Sakellaridis in straight sets to make it 2-2.

However, Greece secured the win and their place in the last four after the pairing of Sakkari and Tsitsipas saw off Martic and Gojo 7-6 (8-6) 6-4.

Greece will take on Italy in the semi-finals, while Poland face the USA, with both taking place in Sydney on Friday.

Stefanos Tsitsipas opened his United Cup campaign with a comeback victory over Grigor Dimitrov in Perth.

ATP world number four Tsitsipas is one of the headline names in action at the event, which is acting as a warm-up tournament for the Australian Open.

After going a set down to his Bulgarian opponent in his first game of the inaugural tournament, Tsitsipas hit back with a strong second set before holding his nerve in a tense tie-break in the decider, securing a 4-6 6-2 7-6 (7-4) win.

Tsitsipas's team-mate Despina Papamichail continued Greece's strong start, also coming from a set down to beat Isabella Shinikova 3-6 6-4 6-1.

Great Britain opened with a pair of victories, Cameron Norrie and Katie Swan earning straight sets triumphs over their Australian counterparts in Sydney.

Norrie, who was initially set to play Nick Kyrgios prior to the Wimbledon finalist's withdrawal due to an ankle injury, eased to a 6-3 6-3 victory over Alex De Minaur, while Swan defeated Zoe Hives. 

The United States are also taking a 100 per cent record into day two of the tournament, after Taylor Fritz and Madison Keys overcame Jiri Lehecka and Marie Bouzkova respectively, while France pair Arthur Rinderknech and Alize Cornet got off to winning starts against Argentina's Francisco Cerundolo and Maria Lourdes Carle.

In Brisbane, Swiss hope Belinda Bencic secured a 7-6 (7-0) triumph over Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan and Beatriz Haddad Maia, the Brazilian world number 15, dispatched Italy's Martina Trevisan 6-2 6-0.

American teenager Coco Gauff showed why she deserves to be at this year's WTA Finals with a commanding 6-0 6-3 victory over Martina Trevisan at the Guadalajara Open.

The fifth seed clinched her maiden spot at the season-ending WTA Finals on Wednesday and backed that up by securing her third WTA 1000 quarter-final on Thursday.

Gauff reeled off the first nine games of the match against Trevisan, where she triumphed in one hour and one minute. The 18-year-old came under pressure from Trevisan, who generated nine break points for the match but Gauff saved all bar one of them.

World number one Iga Swiatek (47) is the only player to have won more matches this year in straight sets than Gauff (32).

Gauff will face Victoria Azarenka in the quarter-finals after the Belarusian toppled 13th seed Madison Keys 6-4 6-7 (4-7) 6-1 in two hours and 13 minutes.

Two-time Australian Open winner Azarenka swept aside Keys in 32 minutes in the third set after a titanic battle in the opening two frames, winning 26 of the 37 final-set points. Azarenka's quarter-final appearance is her 34th since 2009, with only four players having more during the span; Agnieszka Radwanska (42), Simona Halep (39) and Caroline Wozniacki (36).

Third seed Jessica Pegula advanced to the last eight with a 6-4 6-4 victory over former US Open champion Bianca Andreescu. 

The American, who survived three match points against Elena Rybakina on Wednesday, trailed early against the Canadian but took control of the match. Pegula will face Sloane Stephens in the quarter-finals after she toppled 2022 US Open semi-finalist Caroline Garcia 7-6 (8-6) 7-5.

On the day her WTA Finals berth was confirmed, seventh seed Daria Kasatkina lost 6-2 2-6 6-3 to Anna Kalinskaya in two hours and 14 minutes.

Fourth seed Maria Sakkari fought back to win 5-7 6-3 6-3 over 14th seed Danielle Collins, while Marie Bouzkova copped a bagel before triumphing 0-6 7-5 6-3 over Liudmila Samsonova.

Sakkari will next meet eighth seed Veronika Kudermetova who beat Jelena Ostapenko 6-4 6-4. Bouzkova will take on Kalinskaya in the last eight.

It was a great day for the highly ranked Americans at the Guadalajara Open on Wednesday, headlined by world number five Jessica Pegula and her 2-6 6-3 7-6 (10-8) comeback win over Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina.

Pegula, who is now locked into the top-eight and therefore will qualify for the WTA Finals, struggled to win points on her serve in the opening set, but raised her 57 per cent success rate up to 69 per cent in the second set, and 66 per cent in the decider.

The American had to come from a break down in the second set to keep her tournament alive, and she will now face Canada's Bianca Andreescu in the third round.

Meanwhile, fellow United States star Coco Gauff was too good for Italy's Elisabetta Cocciaretto, winning 7-6 (7-1) 6-3 to book a third-round clash with another Italian, Martina Trevisan, who earned her way there with a 6-0 4-6 6-3 win over Katerina Siniakova.

The other two seeded Americans were also successful, with 13th seed Madison Keys coming from a set down to defeat Ajla Tomljanovic 3-6 6-4 6-3, and 14th seed Danielle Collins repelled the challenge of Magdalena Frech 6-3 6-4.

There were positive signs for former world number five Eugenie Bouchard, who ended up losing, but showed she still has her talent by taking a set off world number 23 Jelena Ostapenko in a 7-5 2-6 6-1 result.

Russian pair Anna Kalinskaya and Liudmila Samsonova both emerged in three-set outings, with Kalinskaya outlasting Elise Mertens 6-4 0-6 7-5, while Samsonova upset world number four Aryna Sabalenka 6-4 2-6 6-2.

World number 12 Veronika Kudermetova kept her WTA Finals hopes alive with a 6-4 7-5 win over Donna Vekic, and the Czech Republic's Marie Bouzkova ousted Colombia's Camila Osorio 6-3 6-1.

In the late window, Sloane Stephens eliminated Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic 6-4 6-4, and top overall seed Paula Badosa retired due to injury after losing the first set 6-2 against Victoria Azarenka.

World number one Iga Swiatek thrashed Coco Gauff to clinch a third straight WTA Tour semi-finals berth after moving into the San Diego Open final four on Friday.

Swiatek was irrepressible against the 18-year-old American, extending her head-to-head dominance to 4-0 with a 6-0 6-3 victory in 66 minutes.

The Pole won the first eight games of the match and always appeared in control with her reliable forehand a key feature.

Swiatek laced 13 winners with only nine unforced errors, breaking Gauff five times. The American committed 26 unforced errors for the match.

The victory is Swiatek's 62nd of the season, moving her closer to Angelique Kerber's 2016 mark of 63.

Swiatek will face fourth seed Jessica Pegula in the semi-finals as the Pole aims for her eighth WTA title of the season.

Pegula secured her berth in the final four with a 6-4 7-5 victory over compatriot Madison Keys in their first-ever meeting in one hour and 34 minutes.

Third seed Aryna Sabalenka was a surprise casualty as Croatian qualifier Donna Vekic continued her excellent week with a 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-1 in two hours and 37 minutes.

World number 77 Vekic has beaten former world number three Maria Sakkari and two-time major finalist Karolina Pliskova this week.

Second seed Paula Badosa was also bundled out by American Danielle Collins 7-6 (7-5) 6-4. Collins will meet Vekic in the last four.

World number one Iga Swiatek commenced her San Diego Open campaign with a hard-fought three-set victory over Chinese lucky loser Zheng Qinwen in rainy conditions on Thursday.

The 2022 French Open and US Open champion triumphed 6-4 4-6 6-1 in two hours and two minutes, bouncing back strongly after losing the second set.

Zheng's power and forehand top spin proved challenging for the Pole, who was solid from the baseline to secure her 11st tour quarter-finals appearance this season.

The Chinese had broken Swiatek to lead 1-0 in the third set, but the top seed responded in trademark style, improving her record in the United States this season to 21-1.

Swiatek will take on eighth seed Coco Gauff in the quarter-finals, with the match-up marking a re-match of this year's French Open final.

Gauff worked her way into the last eight with a 6-4 4-6 6-3 victory over 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu.

The 18-year-old American also had to fight back from a set down in the third set to win in a match that lasted just over two-and-a-half hours.

Third seed Aryna Sabalenka fought back from a lopsided opening set to knock out American Sloane Stephens 1-6 6-3 6-2 in two hours and one minute. The Belarussian will take on Donna Vekic in the next round.

Second seed Paula Badosa eased into the last eight, winning in 53 minutes against American qualifier Louisa Chirico 6-0 6-3. Badosa will face Danielle Collins in the quarter-finals.

Madison Keys triumphed over eighth seed Daria Kasatkina 6-4 6-3 in one hour and 27 minutes to secure a quarter-final date with fourth seed Jessica Pegula.

In a first-round clash between two of the world's top-20, Danielle Collins eliminated Caroline Garcia 6-2 7-6 (7-4) from the San Diego Open on Monday.

Garcia, the world number 10, entered the contest off back-to-back losses for the first time since March, and Collins made it three in a row as she was just a little too good with both her serving and return game.

Collins won 63 per cent of her service points, with Garcia at 52 per cent, and she ended up securing five breaks in the match.

She will play Martina Trevisan in the second round after the Italian defeated Colombian qualifier Camila Osorio 6-3 6-4.

Neither player had an ace in the match, but the big differentiating factor was Trevisan's ability to win points off her second serve, converting 50 per cent of her chances while Osorio won only one of nine (11 per cent).

The only qualifier of the day to get a win was Louisa Chirico, who beat fellow American Alison Riske-Amritraj 1-6 7-5 7-6 (7-5).

Chirico, the world number 196, will be rewarded for her win with a showdown against world number four Paula Badosa.

Madison Keys had no issues dealing with Australian qualifier Ellen Perez 6-1 6-4 in just over an hour, and Coco Vandeweghe defeated Sofia Kenin 6-1 1-6 6-4.

In the last match of the night, Canada's Bianca Andreescu won a two-hour-and-40-minute battle against Russia's Liudmila Samsonova 7-6 (7-1) 4-6 6-2.

Coco Gauff admitted it would be a "lifelong dream" to face Serena Williams at the US Open, in what is likely to be the latter's final tournament of a glittering career.

Gauff reached the second week at Flushing Meadows in the women's singles for the first time after cruising to a 6-2-6-3 win over Madison Keys on Friday.

The number 12 seed saw off her fellow American in composed fashion to book her place in the last 16, exceeding her previous best result at the US Open in 2019.

Gauff was largely in control against the number 20 seed Keys to deliver near-flawless performance, chasing a second grand slam final of the year after finishing as runner-up at the French Open to Iga Swiatek.

She will face China's Zhang Shuai in the next round, but when asked if she will watch Williams' match against Ajla Tomljanovic later in the day during her on-court interview, Gauff said she would, adding: "It's been amazing watching Serena's matches so far. I don't know when I'd be due to face her but that's the goal.

"It's been a lifelong dream of mine to do that. Five years ago yesterday I was watching Venus and Serena play here. It's crazy to be on this court now.

"I tried to flex to my friends that I had courtside seats, now I'm on the court!"

Should both remain in the tournament, Gauff and Williams would face each other in the semi-finals.

Gauff also paid tribute to Keys, and to the crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium, saying: "[The win] means a lot to me... I missed my alarm and was so late. I was here until 9pm last night and lost a doubles match [with Jessica Pegula].

"Kudos to my team, they got me up for it.

"I wasn't sure how the crowd was going to go. We all love Madison... I'm good friends with her off the court, but having support here meant a lot."

Petra Kvitova fended off home favourite Madison Keys to reach the Western and Southern Open final and secure a return to the world's top 20.

The two-time Wimbledon champion battled to a 6-7 (6-8) 6-4 6-3 victory in two hours and 18 minutes, saying the match had been "mentally so tough".

Both players had taken significant scalps to reach this stage, with Keys knocking out world number one Iga Swiatek and Kvitova ousting Wimbledon runner-up Ons Jabeur.

Kvitova reached semi-finals at Cincinnati in 2012 and 2018 and lost three-set battles on both occasions, but this time she came good in the decider to earn a first final appearance at the event and a 40th overall in her WTA career.

The 32-year-old Czech slipped an early break adrift in the opening set before fighting back to force a tie-break. She came from behind in that, too, to level up at 6-6, only for hard-hitting American Keys to win the next two points, the first with a sizzling backhand winner.

Kvitova sensed she was still firmly in the match, however, and surges to 3-1 in each of the next two sets provided the platform to fully turn around the contest.

A 12th WTA 1000-level final awaits her, and she will go to 20th in the rankings should she lose Sunday's final and up to 15th if she carries off the title.

Kvitova said of her win: "It was incredibly tough. I expected it would be tough, but I didn't expect it that tough. Madison played unbelievable.

"She played an amazing tie-break, but I tried to keep going, be there and be a little calmer than before and wait for the chances. It was an incredible match, and I'm really happy that I made it somehow.

"I don't really care about the ranking. Being in the final, that's more important, and that's why I'm playing tennis: to be in finals and fighting for a trophy."

She awaited the winner of the second semi-final between Aryna Sabalenka and Caroline Garcia.

Madison Keys stunned top seed Iga Swiatek 6-3 6-4 to book her place in the quarter-finals of the Western & Southern Open on Thursday.

Keys arrived in the contest seeking a first career victory over a reigning world number one in six attempts, having failed to win a set in each of the previous five.

The 2019 champion had also lost her previous two showdowns with Swiatek, including a resounding 6-1 6-0 defeat in the Indian Wells Open quarter-finals earlier this year.

After the first games went with serve, Keys went into overdrive; reeling off nine successive games to take full command of the contest at 6-3 5-0.

Swiatek rallied as she rescued match point to avoid the bagel, winning 11 of 12 points to reduce the second-set deficit to 5-3.

The winner of six WTA titles this season, the Pole saved a further match point in the ninth game before claiming what appeared to be another crucial break of serve.

However, former US Open finalist Keys responded magnificently to make it third time lucky against Swiatek, who is now 4-4 since her 37-match winning streak ended with defeat by Alize Cornet at Wimbledon.

Elena Rybakina has been bundled out of the first round of the Silicon Valley Classic by Daria Kasatkina in her first game since her Wimbledon triumph last month.

Rybakina won the first set comfortably before the Russian hit back for a remarkable turnaround win, 1-6 6-2 6-0 in one hour and 40 minutes.

Seventh seed Kasatkina was the runner-up at last year's Silicon Valley Classic and found her groove to break her Rybakina six times in the second and third sets.

Rybakina sent down three of her four aces for the match in the first set, but Kasatkina adjusted to her serve and won 52.1 per cent return points for the match.

Eighth seed Karolina Pliskova fought back from a slow start to get past Katie Boulter 1-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-3, despite 16 double faults.

American Amanda Anisimova overcame compatriot Ashlyn Krueger 6-2 7-6 (7-5). US pair Madison Keys and Taylor Townsend were also winners.

Third seed Simona Halep and top seed Jessica Pegula were both among the winners in the first round at the Citi Open in Washington DC.

Two-time major winner Halep cruised past Spanish qualifier Cristina Bucsa 6-3 7-5 in one hour and 20 minutes.

Halep, playing her first match since her Wimbledon semi-final loss to Rybakina, fired 19 winners but also 33 unforced errors.

Defending champion Pegula made light work of countrywoman Hailey Baptiste 6-2 6-2 in 73 minutes.

Pegula will face unseeded Australian Daria Saville, who won in three sets over Mirjam Bjorklund, while sixth seed Kaia Kanepi will meet China's Zhu Lin after both won on Monday.

Fifth seed Elise Mertens was a first-round casualty, going down 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 to Ludmilla Samsonova, while Croatian Donna Vekic knocked off seventh seed Mayar Sherif 6-4 6-1.

Six-time major champion Venus Williams played her first singles match in nearly a year but bowed out 4-6 6-1 6-4 to Rebecca Marino.