Approaching the midpoint of the last Grand Slam, the women’s draw has been turned upside down. Another high seed fell on Saturday, while some favorites strode ahead.

Qualifier Eliminates Kvitova

Aleksandra Krunic of Serbia faced off against Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova and, despite her world ranking of No. 145, the qualifier was not intimidated. After a feisty effort, she eliminated the Czech 6-4 6-4.

In the first set, Krunic's defense and court coverage took the assaulting Kvitova groundstrokes in stride as she stayed in points with her clean play. Despite the third seed’s aggressive style, the Serb yielded just six unforced errors and frustrated Kvitova into 16 of her own, despite her 17 winners. Krunic was able to make a dent in the powerful Kvitova serve, coming up with two breaks, which were enough to control and win the first set.

In the second set, Krunic continued to frustrate with her quickness on the court and ability to strike precision shots, quickly turning defense to offense. The 21-year-old broke the Czech's serve twice and put the veteran on the ropes with an opportunity to gain a two-break advantage. However, Kvitova fought off her inroads and in turn evened the set at 4-4. But the young Serb, who seemingly showed the ability to get to any ball with her quickness, left it all on the court in diving and lunging for balls, breaking once more. With the demeanor of a seasoned veteran, she served out the set and the match, springing another upset in the women’s draw.

A humble Krunic addressed her win courtside. “It was an honor to play on the same court as Petra, she's a great champion. I watched both her wins at Wimbledon,” she said. “I wanted to be myself on court and play as long as possible. I didn't expect to win. I hoped to win a set.”

Azarenka, Williams Advance in Straight Sets

Top-seeded Serena Williams and 16th seed Victoria Azarenka both advanced with little difficulty on Saturday.

Williams, looking for her third consecutive U. S. Open title, defeated fellow American Varvara Lepchenko 6-3 6-3. She was forced to adapt to windy conditions in Arthur Ashe but capitalized on 32 unforced errors from her opponents. The world no. 1 had many chances opportunities on Lepchenko's serve with 13 break opportunities but was only successful on four. Nonetheless, the last American left in the draw advanced to the fourth round, where she will meet Kaia Kanepi, who upset 15th seed Carla Suarez Navarro.

With the victory, Williams has defeated three straight Americans in the tournament. She had positive words for Lepchenko, “My opponent today was spectacular. It was really a good match, and it just shows how far Varvara has come, so I'm really proud of her.”

Meanwhile, Azarenka continued to stride towards her pre-injury status, rolling to a 6-1 6-1 victory against Elena Vesnina in just 57 minutes. The Belarusian was efficient on the day with just eight unforced errors in the match, while her opponent yielded 26. Azarenka will next meet Krunic, who has become a fan favorite in New York.

Bouchard Into the Fourth Round

Seventh seed Eugenie Bouchard, overcame some lapses in her game to defeat 30th-seeded Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, 6-2 6-7 6-4.

In the first set, it appeared that the post-Wimbledon struggles were a distant memory for Bouchard, who managed a solid set of tennis. Striking crisp, precise shots, she kept the Czech on her heels as she rolled to to a 6-2 opener.

However, in the second set, Zahlavova Strycova found her confidence and went toe to toe with Bouchard, pressuring the Canadian into 21 unforced errors. The set went into a tiebreak and for the second straight match, Bouchard came up short, missing some very makeable shots. Zahlavova Strycova won the tiebreak and forced a third set.

Much as in her last match, Bouchard overcame some bumps in the road in the third set but managed to guide through the pressure and control her nerves. She closed out the match at 6-4 in the third to advance to the fourth round.