After missing three Grand Slams last year, Czech tennis player Marketa Vondrousova exemplified a resurgence of her athletic prowess with recent accomplishments including a major win at Wimbledon 2023, securing a spot in the top 10 rankings, and now her first quarter-final qualification at the 2023 US Open.
The 24-year-old Vondrousova overcame a spirited unseeded American Peyton Stearns 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-2 at the US Open Round of 4 on Monday, September 4.
Vondrousova capitalised on the 21 unforced errors by Stearns in the third set, and successfully achieved seven breaks. The next challenge she would have to overcome is Madison Keys, who secured her place in the quarter-finals following her victory over World No.3 Jessica Pegula.
Vondrousova’s performance was evocative of her past match with Stearns in the first round at Wimbledon 2023, where she triumphed with a score of 6-2, 7-5 on her way to securing her Wimbledon title. The match with Stearns was intense, with the latter starting with a lead, which Vondrousova steadily overturned. Vondrousova regained her focus, breaking Stearns at the start of the second set, which eventually set the path to her victory.
Meanwhile, the 2023 US Open saw Keys return to the quarter-finals after five years. She commandingly defeated third-seed Pegula with a score of 6-1, 6-3 within 61 minutes. This match bodes well for Keys, marking her first consecutive quarter-finals since 2018, albeit she has been sidelined by a hip injury.
Keys, however, turned the tables on Pegula, who won in their previous meet, thereby defeating her and cementing her place in the quarter-finals.
