The American faced Olga Govortsova on Thursday afternoon, and overwhelmed her opponent to emerge with a 6-2 6-2 victory. Stephens broke her opponent five times, as she applied relentless pressure to the Belarusian's serve. Govortsova went 0 for 5 on her second serve points, as Stephens attacked any short balls with precision and depth. The former Grand Slam champion also won 55% of return points, and dominated her opponent with 23 winners. The match was over after 66 minutes, with Stephens looking as good as she has all year. She will face the winner between compatriot Serena Williams and Margarita Gasparyan for a spot in the fourth round.

Another American who spent even less time on court was Madison Keys, as the seventh seed needed just 54 minutes to brush past Aliona Bolsova. Keys completely overpowered her opponent as she raced to a 6-2 6-1 victory. The American won 80% of points on her first serve, hitting 23 winners. Bolsova was kept on the defensive end for the entire match, as she managed to hit just four winners while winning 33% of points on her second serve. Having finished runner-up to Stephens in 2017, Keys is looking to re-establish herself as a contender during this year's event. She will face Alize Cornet, who defeated Ysaline Bonaventure 7-6(4) 6-3 to advance to the third round.

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