TORONTO, Canada - After a 20-minute opening set, Garbiñe Muguruza needed a decider to outlast qualifier Ashleigh Barty, 6-0, 3-6, 6-2 to reach the quarterfinals at the Rogers Cup for the first time.  

The Wimbledon champion exacted a measure of revenge against the woman who beat her in the lead-up to her run at the All-England Club, as Barty previously scored a three-set victory from a set down in the semifinals at the Aegon Classic in Birmingham.

"I just needed a balance of the first and second sets. I started very well, and then in the second set she started very well, so it was kind of a fight," Muguruza said on-court. "I'm very happy to go through."

The No.4 seed got off to the perfect start in the match, as she dropped just nine points in total en route to a first set bagel. 

The Wimbledon champion served at 71 percent, and won a staggering 70 percent of points played on both her serve and return in a dominant display, breaking the Aussie's serve three times in three opportunities. 

Barty won just three of 10 points played when she landed a first serve in the opening set, and was unable to get to deuce in three return games as the Spaniard quickly found her groove.

However, the Aussie found her feet quickly in the opening set, showing off the all-court tennis that's taken her to a career-high ranking and her first career title in 2017.

After saving a pair of break points to move ahead 2-1, Barty earned her first break of the match in the fourth game, but found herself needing a second break to seal her advantage in the second set.

After dropping serve at love the first time she broke in the set, the qualifier proved much stronger in her second attempt, as she scored a hold at love to lead 5-2, and proved similarly emphatic to send the match to a decider.

After surrendering a love break to begin the decider, Muguruza settled in, responding with her fifth break of the evening to level the set, and proceeded to hold twice more to keep her lead.

With the match finely poised in the sixth game, it was the Wimbledon champion who found another gear to claim victory, as she won the last three games of the match - and toughed out a pair of breaks that both went to deuce.

Up next for Muguruza is No.5 seed Elina Svitolina, who surrendered just three games in defeating Venus Williams earlier on Thursday evening.

The pair have split six career meetings, including two in 2017, but Muguruza's win came in a three-setter on the hard courts of the BNP Paribas Open in March. 

"It'll be a tough match, of course. I saw a little bit of the match and she played very good," the Spaniard assessed of her quarterfinal foe. "She's having a great year as well - it's quarterfinals and I'm excited, it's going to be another battle."