US Open 2024: Jessica Pegula beats Jessica Bouzas Maneiro

American Jessica Pegula continued to underline her title credentials at the US Open with a routine victory against Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in the third round.

The sixth seed wrapped up a dominant 6-3 6-3 win in 70 minutes at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Pegula has yet to drop a set in New York and the strength of her service game has been illustrated by the home hope winning 89% of her first serve points.

Pegula, who is through to the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time this year, will next face rising star Diana Shnaider.

The 20-year-old Russian, seeded 18th, breezed past Italy’s Sara Errani in a 6-2 6-2 victory where she landed 31 winners.

Shnaider has surged up the world rankings this year after winning her first three WTA Tour titles and reaching the third round of Wimbledon.

Earlier on Saturday, Italian fifth seed Jasmine Paolini beat Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva 6-3 6-4.

French Open and Wimbledon runner-up Paolini, 28, has now made the second week of all four majors in 2024.

She will face Karolina Muchova next after the Czech, who knocked out two-time champion Naomi Osaka in the last round, claimed a comfortable 6-4 6-2 win against Russian Anastasia Potapova.

Muchova reached the semi-finals at Flushing Meadows last year before suffering a wrist injury that required surgery and sidelined her for 10 months.

Caroline Wozniacki booked her spot in the last 16 for a second year running, defeating France’s Jessika Ponchet 6-3 6-2.

The Dane will have to beat either Beatriz Haddad Maia or Anna Kalinskaya, who player later, if she is to reach the quarter-finals of a major for the first time since her run to the Australian Open title in 2018.