Defending champion Iga Swiatek needed four match points to get past Diane Parry of France 6-3, 6-3 in a last-16 clash at the WTA Cincinnati Masters on Wednesday.
Victory handed the seventh-seeded Pole her fourth consecutive quarterfinal in Cincy and her 30th at the 1000 level.
Swiatek was broken as she served for victory leading a set and 5-2 but missing her first chance to close it out.
It took three additional chances in the next game to break Parry, who hit the next with a backhand to lose in 88 minutes.
"I was solid, even if I had to put more energy into my shots since she was hitting so much slice," said six-time Grand Slam winner Swiatek, who captured her first title of 2026 at last week's Toronto Masters.
"I played well from beginning to end. My focus is on the match and not the statistics."
PEGULA BATTLES THROUGH
Third seed Jessica Pegula was made to work hard after failing to serve out a quick win, fighting through to join Swiatek as a winner with 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 defeat of Romanian Sorana Cirstea.
Cirstea is playing her 22nd year on the Tour and showed a veteran's poise as she forced Pegula to battle for every point in windy conditions.
The third set was a back-and-forth of service breaks and missed opportunities before Pegula put the win to bed after just over two hours.
"It was really tough," Pegula said. "I was up a set and whatever, but I had the feeling that she might loosen and raise her level.
"There was lots of wind in the third set and she was returning well. I got a bit tentative on volleys and overheads.
"But I did a good job at the end to push and be as aggressive as possible - and it worked."
Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk rallied from a set down to beat fifth seed and reigning French Open winner Mirra Andreeva 4-6, 6-0, 6-2.