Elena Rybakina avoided an upset at the Washington Open, but there was no such luck for Emma Navarro.
Rybakina saw off Victoria Mboko 6-3 7-5 on Wednesday, sealing her progression into the quarter-finals.
Mboko made nine double-faults to provide Rybakina with a helping hand, though the Canadian did keep herself in the contest in a tightly fought second set.
While the 2022 Wimbledon champion can look forward to a last-eight tie, second seed Navarro must lick her wounds after a disappointing exit at the hands of Maria Sakkari.
Navarro went down 7-5 7-6 (7-1) in a match that lasted just under two hours.
Sakkari, a former world number six, is now ranked 90th by the WTA, but the 2023 finalist showed she still has plenty in her locker.
The Greek will now take on either Naomi Osaka or Emma Raducanu for a place in the semi-finals.
Data Debrief: Sakkari targets wild card success
Navarro would have been hoping to move back into the top 10 with a deep run in Washington, but instead she lost for a third time out of four meetings with Sakkari, who saved all three of the break points her American opponent mustered.
While there is still some way to go, Sakkari will have a piece of history in her sights. Should she go on to win the tournament, then she would become just the third wild card to do so, after Paula Badosa (2024) and Nadia Petrova (2011).
