WUHAN, China -- No.5 seed Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic kept her hopes alive for a third Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open title on Wednesday by moving past No.10 seed Sloane Stephens of the United States, 6-3, 6-3, to advance to the quarterfinals.

"It’s tough to get back to the form I was at the beginning of the season," Kvitova said after the match, looking back on an arm injury which caused her to withdraw from a handful of tournaments over the last few months. "It’s still a lot of work to do. I’m glad my arm is still there, it’s not falling apart! So, I’m here to just fight for every point and every match. I’m really glad to be in the quarterfinal."

GALLERY: High five: Previous winners in Wuhan from Kvitova to Sabalenka

Kvitova, who won the Wuhan title in 2014 and 2016, had never previously beaten Stephens, taking losses to the American at back-to-back events in Toronto and Cincinnati in 2017 in their two prior meetings. This time around, though, two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova claimed victory over 2017 US Open champion Stephens after one hour and nine minutes of play.

"I remember those two matches in the U.S.A," Kvitova admitted. "I didn’t really play the best but [Stephens] was the better player then."

The Czech was superb when she stepped to the line, winning 70 percent of her first-service points and an even better 75 percent of points off of her second serve. Kvitova maneuvered to the victory without facing a break point, and her 16 winners doubled the total from Stephens.

"My serve helped me a lot today," Kvitova stated. "She moved very well, but I just played very aggressive, and that was the key of it."

Kvitova claimed the first break of the match to go up 2-1, but not without a struggle, as Stephens staved off three break points before double faulting on the fourth break point to cede the lead to the Czech. Kvitova held onto that lead up through 5-3 with minimal fuss, as she won nine of her 11 second-service points in the opener.

Fiery returns put the Czech ahead on Stephens’s service game at 5-3, and she held a set point after an unforced error from the American’s racquet. There, a rally ended with a wide backhand by Stephens, and Kvitova locked up a one-set lead without having to face a break point.

It was a similar story in the second stanza, as Stephens saved multiple break points in her second service game of the set, but was unable to stave them all off, as she fired a rally backhand wide to hand over a 3-1 lead to Kvitova. Stephens regrouped and held with ease in her next two service games, but was unable to get a look in on the Kvitova serve up through 5-3.

The American did give herself a brief window of opportunity when Kvitova served for the match in that game, hitting with depth to queue up a 0-30 chance. However, the vaunted serve and ferocious forehand of Kvitova reeled off three straight points from there, setting up a match point. Kvitova converted that chance with another error-forcing forehand, and the Czech put herself back in the Wuhan quarterfinals.

World No.7 Kvitova will now meet Ukrainian teenager Dayana Yastremska in the quarterfinals. Earlier on Wednesday, Yastremska defeated the other Czech ranked in the Top 10, No.2 seed Karolina Pliskova, to set up a meeting against Kvitova in the last eight.

"I’m going to try not to give it to the young ones yet!" Kvitova laughed. "Definitely, [Yastremska is] a talented player, she’s very pumped, she’s in good form after beating Karolina tonight. It’s a good one for her, and I need to be prepared for tomorrow."