Sam Stosur is in a perfect position to claim her first tournament victory of 2016 with seeds continuing to tumble at the Citi Open in Washington.
The Australian's draw opened up significantly when Lauren Davis knocked out third-seeded Puerto Rican Monica Puig 6-4 6-2 on Thursday.
The result leaves Stosur in a top half of the draw that sees 77th ranked Italian Camila Giorgi as the next-best ranked player.
Giorgi advanced to the quarters thanks to a walkover from Austrian Tamira Paszek.
Stosur now faces 22-year-old American qualifier Jessica Pegula in the quarters and she would have to like her chances of winning her first title since July last year when she won in Gastein, Austria.
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The Australian got through to the quarter-finals when Caroline Wozniacki retired hurt due to an elbow injury in their second round match on Wednesday.
In the bottom half of the draw, fourth-seeded Frenchwoman Kristina Mladenovic beat 2013 Wimbledon runner-up Sabine Lisicki 6-3 6-3 and Japan's Risa Ozaki edged out Briton Naomi Broady 6-1 5-7 6-4.
