NEW YORK – Jessica Pegula is back in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open after a 6-4, 6-2 win over Diana Shnaider on Monday, her seventh appearance in this round at a Grand Slam tournament. Now comes the hard part: Pegula is 0-6 in major quarterfinals in her career.

The No. 6 seed Pegula, an American whose parents own the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres, is currently on top form, winning 13 of her last 14 matches, all on hard courts, including her second consecutive title in Canada and an appearance in the final of the Cincinnati Open, where she lost to No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka.

“I feel like the pressure was bigger this year because I started this tournament so well,” said the 30-year-old Pegula. “I want to keep working on myself and hopefully show my best tennis in the later rounds this time.”

Also returning to the quarterfinals is Karolina Muchova, who won 6-3, 6-3 against No. 5 Jasmine Paolini, who was runner-up at the French Open and Wimbledon this season. Muchova made her breakthrough in 2023, reaching the final in Paris and the semifinals in New York before undergoing surgery on her right wrist in October that kept her out of action for 10 months.

“That was my worst and most serious injury, I would say. But I love the sport, so I thought, ‘I’m going to do whatever I can to get healthy and try.’ And here I am today,” Muchova said. “I’m just a really happy kid now.”

Pegula reached the quarterfinals at Flushing Meadows two years ago, but lost to No. 1 Iga Swiatek, who went on to win one of her five major titles. Another clash with Swiatek could be on the horizon: Pegula will next face the winner of Monday night’s match between Swiatek and No. 16 Liudmila Samsonova.

Three of Pegula’s six quarterfinal exits at Grand Slam tournaments came against a No. 1 player – twice Swiatek and once Ash Barty.

When asked what she needed to do this time to reach the semifinals, Pegula jokingly replied during her on-court interview at Arthur Ashe Stadium: “I always say I just need to win the match to reach the semifinals and then everything will be solved, right?”

She continued: “Look, I don’t really care. I mean, every game is every game. I’ve always played it that way. It happens to be the quarterfinals, but at the same time, it’s great to be able to say that I’ve been in this position many, many times. So I just have to keep working on myself and try to play my game.”

The match went quite well against 18th-seeded Shnaider, a 20-year-old Russian who played one season of college tennis at North Carolina State University and won a silver medal in women’s doubles at the Paris Olympics.

Pegula hit 22 winners, six aces, saved 7 of 9 break points and won five of Shnaider’s service games.

“I feel like I’m moving a lot better on the court,” Pegula said, adding that “I’ve felt so good since I left the ground.”