Jessica Pegula secured her place in the quarterfinals of the US Open with a performance that Billie Jean King would have been proud of as the American tennis icon watched her effortlessly defeat Russia’s Diana Shnaider in straight sets on Monday.

Pegula, the number 6 seed at this year’s tournament, defeated 18th seed Shnadier 6-4, 6-2 to comfortably advance to the last eight.

The 30-year-old American has never made it past the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam, meaning she is just one win away from her best run on the big stage.

And when she pushed Shnadier aside on Monday, Pegula did so in front of the legendary King, who was in attendance at the USTA National Tennis Center named after her.

The 80-year-old, who is generally regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time, won an incredible 39 Grand Slams during her illustrious career, including 12 in singles, 16 in doubles and 11 in mixed doubles.

Jessica Pegula secured her place in the quarterfinals of the US Open on Monday afternoon

Pegula is in top form after winning 13 of her last 14 matches, all on hard court, including her second consecutive title in Canada and an appearance in the final of the Cincinnati Open, where she lost to No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka.

“I feel like the pressure was more this year because I did so well leading up to this tournament,” said the Buffalo-born star, whose parents own the Bills in the NFL and the Sabres in the NHL.

“I want to continue working on myself and hopefully play my best tennis for the later rounds this time.”

Pegula reached the quarterfinals at Flushing Meadows two years ago, where she lost to No. 1 Iga Swiatek, who later won one of her five major titles.

Another meeting with Swiatek could be on the cards, as she is next scheduled to face the winner of Monday night’s match between her and No. 16 Liudmila Samsonova.

Three of Pegula’s six quarterfinal exits at Grand Slam tournaments came against a number one player – twice Swiatek and once Ash Barty.

Billie Jean King watched Pegula win in straight sets in the round of 16

The American defeated the 18th seeded Russian Diana Shnaider and reached the quarterfinals

When asked during her on-court interview at Arthur Ashe Stadium what she needed to do to make it to the semifinals this time, Pegula joked: “I always say I just need to win the game to make it to 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 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 seven of nine 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’ve been on the floor.”