World number seven Coco Gauff cruised into the last eight of the Rothesay International at Eastbourne with a comfortable 6-1 6-1 victory over Britain’s Jodie Burrage.
The American took just 59 minutes to complete the win with the only highlight for Burrage, who has a Wimbledon wildcard, being a break of serve to make it 5-1 in the second set.
Gauff will now face compatriot and doubles partner Jessica Pegula, who beat Colombian qualifier Camila Osorio 6-2 1-6 6-3, in a meeting of the top two Americans on tour.
The American is enjoying the relative peace of Eastbourne ahead of Wimbledon next week.
“Being in a town like Eastbourne where you can walk reminds me of home. It’s peaceful and I need that before getting into a Grand Slam,” she told BBC2.
Britain’s representation in the women’s singles ended with Harriet Dart’s exit to Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko, losing 6-3 6-4, while Russian ninth seed Daria Kasatkina beat 2021 Wimbledon runner-up Karolina Pliskova in three sets.
Defending men’s champion and top seed Taylor Fritz was knocked out by fellow Californian Mackenzie McDonald, who recovered from a break down in each set to win 7-6 (3) 7-6 (8) against the world number nine.
🚨 Upset alert 🚨@mackiemacster takes out the #1 seed, Taylor Fritz, 7-6 7-6 to advance in Eastbourne! 💪@the_LTA | #RothesayInternational pic.twitter.com/TD1RWg8lHO
— ATP Tour (@atptour) June 28, 2023
“It’s a big win for me. Taylor’s a close friend and it’s always tough playing your friends. It was a battle out there,” McDonald said in his on-court interview.
The American will face Swede Mikael Ymer in the quarter-finals after he defeated home favourite Liam Broady 6-2 6-4.
Eighth seed Miomir Kecmanovic struggled past qualifier qualifier Aleksandar Vukic for a 7-6 (6) 6-4 win and will face Frenchman Gregoire Barrere after he upset fifth seed Nicolas Jarry in three sets.
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