Former world No. 1 Garbine Muguruza has advanced to the quarter-finals of the Shenzhen Open after defeating American Shelby Rogers 6-1 7-6 (7-2).
Muguruza, a two-time grand slam champion, now faces Zarina Diyas in the final four after the Kazakhstan player defeated Anna Blinkova 6-1, 6-7 (9), 6-4.
The sixth-seeded Spaniard fired 10 aces and won 80 per cent of her first serve points to progress in an hour and 23 minutes.
Wednesday’s victory was the first time Muguruza has had consecutive wins at a WTA tournament since last year’s fourth-round finish at the French Open.
“My goal is to play as many matches as I can, so I’m looking forward to my next match and to keep advancing in the tournament,” Muguruza said.
“I’ve never played (Diyas) so I’m looking forward to facing a new opponent.”
Fifth-seeded Ekaterina Alexandrova extended her winning streak to seven matches after toppling 2014 finalist Peng Shuai 7-6 (9-7), 6-1 in 83 minutes.
Alexandrova saved a first set point before forcing a tie break.
“The first set was tough, because the start was good, then the middle was so bad, and the end was okay,” the Russian said.
“I think she played extremely well at the end in the first set. In the second set, I was lucky that I could break her, and after, it was much easier for me.”
“It feels great to finally play in the quarterfinals here, because I’m playing for the fourth time here.”
She will now meet fourth-seeded Qiang Wang in the quarterfinals after the Chinese player beat Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-4, 0-6, 7-6 (7-5).