Andy Murray claimed his first win over a top-five opponent since 2016 as he stunned Stefanos Tsitsipas to reach the Stuttgart Open semi-finals.
Murray started his preparations for the grass-court swing with a run to the semi-finals of the challenger at Surbiton.
He knocked off seventh seed Alexander Bublik to reach the last eight in Stuttgart but a meeting with the top seed and world number five represented a much more imposing challenge.
It was one the two-time Wimbledon champion rose to emphatically, winning a first-set tie-break and then claiming the second set in comfortable fashion to cement a 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 win, gaining revenge for his contentious five-set defeat to the Greek at last year's US Open.
Murray's previous win over a top-five opponent came in the ATP Finals six years ago, when he defeated Novak Djokovic in a year that also saw him win Wimbledon.
"I thought I did well. He served unbelievably in the first set," Murray said in his on-court interview.
"I felt like I had very few chances, but when he was creating chances on my serve, I stayed strong.
"I played a really solid tie-break and in the second set, once I was in the rallies, I felt like I was dictating a lot of the points. It was a good performance."
Murray is up to 53rd in the live ATP rankings and is bidding to get back into the top 50 for the first time since 2018.
Standing between him and a place in the final is Nick Kyrgios, who was 7-6 (7-3) 3-0 up when Marton Fucsovics retired from their quarter-final clash.
Matteo Berrettini beat Lorenzo Sonego in three sets, while Oscar Otte won by walkover against Benjamin Bonzi.
At the Rosmalen Grass Court Championships in 's-Hertogenbosch, Daniil Medvedev saw off Ilya Ivashka 7-6 (10-8) 6-4.
Medvedev, who will soon return to world number one when the ranking points from the French Open come into effect, sees the grass-court season as a chance to cement his grip on that spot.
"I don't have many points to defend on grass and I have some to win, so hopefully I can play well, starting here," said Medvedev. "Every round is points and the higher you get, the more you need to step up."
He will face defending champion Adrian Mannarino in the semi-finals, while second seed Felix Auger-Aliassime is into a last-four clash with home hope Tim van Rijthoven after beating Karen Khachanov.
Reigning champion Sabalenka pushed by Linette at Madrid Open
Aryna Sabalenka got her Madrid Open campaign started with a 6-4 3-6 6-3 win over Magda Linette on Friday.
Sabalenka could not quite hit her peak form against Linette, but the world number two nevertheless got the job done after going the distance.
The Belarusian is hunting a record-equalling third title in Madrid, where she is the reigning champion, though she has not won back-to-back matches at a tournament since winning the Australian Open.
"It's not about being confident," Sabalenka said. "It's about how much you're ready to do to get it. It's about the hard work and to be ready, be ready for the big fights. I feel like confidence is not going to help you in those big matches. It's about staying there and fighting for it."
Data Debrief
Sabalenka (70 per cent, 56-24) is now one of five active players since 2020 to hold a winning percentage of 70 per cent or higher at WTA-1000 events.
Iga Swiatek, Simona Halep, Elena Rybakina and Jessica Pegula are the other players to feature on that list.
Rybakina continues clay winning streak with victory over Bronzetti
In-form Elena Rybakina has moved into the last 32 of the Madrid Open after a straight sets victory over Italian Lucia Bronzetti.
Number four seed Rybakina triumphed 6-4 6-3 on Friday and will next face either Marta Kostyuk or Mayar Sherif.
Rybakina was broken early in each set but ultimately had few problems getting over the line, converting four of her five break points to continue an impressive run of results after winning the Stuttgart Open last week.
She has now won five consecutive WTA matches and has 13 straight wins on clay courts to her name in a superb streak that started one year ago.
Data Debrief: Rybakina in elite company
Since the start of 2020, only two other players have claimed as many 13 consecutive WTA wins on clay, and they are Iga Swiatek and Simona Halep, so Rybakina is in elite company.
Rybakina's last defeat on this surface came in the 2023 edition of the Madrid Open, when she fell to Anna Kalinskaya in her first match, so this win represented a better start to her campaign in the Spanish capital.
World number one Swiatek sees off Xiyu in Madrid opener
World number one Iga Swiatek overcame Wang Xiyu with the minimum of fuss on Thursday to progress to the third round of the Madrid Open.
Swiatek has yet to win the title in Madrid, which is the only clay-court European event at which the Pole has not triumphed, but she got off to a flying start with a 6-1 6-4 victory over Xiyu.
"I love this place. I got to know the city a little better last year," Swiatek said. "So this time I feel more comfortable around."
Next up for the 22-year-old is a third-round tie against 27th seed Sorana Cirstea on Saturday.
Data Debrief
Swiatek has registered 150 match wins on the WTA Tour since the start of 2022. Elena Rybakina and Coco Gauff are the next best with 108 wins each.
She also became the first player born this century to claim 50 combined match wins in Madrid, Rome and Roland-Garros, since the inaugural women's singles event at the Madrid Open in 2009.
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