Former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina reached the quarter-finals after ailing Russian 17th seed Anna Kalinskaya retired from their clash with a suspected right forearm injury while trailing 6-3 3-0.
Big-hitting Rybakina, who came into the match as the only woman remaining in the decimated draw to have lifted the Venus Rosewater Dish, found herself an early break down but the 2022 champion settled her nerves quickly to reel off the games.
The fourth seed is also the highest-ranked player left in this year’s tournament but said she faced no added pressure heading into the business end.
“Every opponent is difficult and I know that I must always bring my best. That’s what I try to do from every match,” said Rybakina, who will face Elina Svitolina in the last eight.
Ukrainian Svitolina powered into the quarter-finals with a 6-2 6-1 victory over China’s Wang Xinyu but the result was secondary for the tearful player whose thoughts were on the war back home.
Svitolina burst into tears in her post-match interview over the news that Ukraine’s main children’s hospital in Kyiv had been hit by missile strikes.
“For sure it was a good performance from my side today. It’s difficult today for Ukrainian people,” said Svitolina, before breaking down.
The 21st seed, who last year matched her best run at the grasscourt Grand Slam with a run to the semi-finals, wore a black ribbon on her white top on Monday.
In the men’s competition, Italian 25th seed Lorenzo Musetti overcame a shaky start to beat French lucky loser Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 4-6 6-3 6-3 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals for the first time in his career.