Iga Swiatek of Poland downed compatriot Magda Linette 6-1, 6-1 to power into the China Open women's singles quarterfinal on Wednesday.
The four-time Grand Slam winner needed only a little over an hour to dispatch Linette to claim her 60th win of the season, which makes her the first female tennis player to pocket 60 or more victories two seasons in a row since fellow Pole Agnieszka Radwanska a decade ago.
Swiatek, who made her debut in Beijing, will next play against the winner between France's Caroline Garcia and Ukraine's Anhelina Kalinina, whose third round match takes place a day later.
Iga Swiatek in action during China Open women's singles round of 16 in Beijing, China, October 4, 2023. /CFP
Earlier on Wednesday, Latvian Jelena Ostapenko beat American Jessica Pegula 6-4, 6-2 to clinch her second win against a Top-5 player of the season, as well as her first against Pegula since 2015, as she sets up her next match against Russian Liudmila Samsonova.
Ostapenko famously eliminated Swiatek in the round of 16 at the U.S. Open a month ago, which halted Swiatek's 75-week reign of the world ranking.
Swiatek, on the other hand, said that she felt relieved about losing the top spot in her first press conference in Beijing last week.
"I felt like there was some baggage off my shoulders and I could focus more on... getting back to the more peaceful and normal rhythm of practising," said Swiatek.
The last women's singles match on Wednesday takes place between Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan and Russian Mirra Andreeva.
The remaining matches of the round of 16 will be on Thursday, featuring Chinese youngster Wang Xinyu against Greek No. 6 seed Maria Sakkari.