World number two Carlos Alcaraz made it 10 wins from 11 matches in 2023 after defeating Tallon Griekspoor 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 in round three at the Indian Wells Open.
Alcaraz, 19, kicked off his 2023 campaign with eight wins in a row, including an Argentina Open title, before losing to Cameron Norrie in the Rio Open decider.
He has yet to drop a set at this fortnight's tournament in California, following up his opening win over Thanasi Kokkinakis with another strong showing against 31st seed Griekspoor.
The Spaniard will look to keep his strong form going when he meets Jack Draper in the fourth round, after 21-year-old Draper prevailed 7-6 (8-6) 6-2 in a battle of the Brits against Andy Murray.
Murray, who came into the match with six wins from his past seven outings, had an opportunity to take the match by the scruff of the neck but could not capitalise on a set point before going down in a tight tie-break, before Draper took charge.
California's own Taylor Fritz lived up to his fourth seeding, with the defending champion having little trouble in overcoming Argentina's Sebastian Baez 6-1 6-2, and he will play Hungary's Marton Fucsovics for a spot in the quarter-final.
Fucsovics, after upsetting 16th seed Alex De Minaur in the previous round, got the better of Slovakia's Alex Molcan 6-4 6-2.
Former world number three Stan Wawrinka showed he still has some gas in the tank after a surprise 6-2 6-7 (5-7) 7-5 triumph over world number eight Holger Rune, with the 37-year-old showing what he has learned through competing at the top level for as long as the 19-year-old Dane has been alive.
Jannik Sinner, the 13th seed, successfully navigated the challenge of veteran Adrian Mannarino for a 7-6 (9-7) 6-4 victory, Tommy Paul won his top-20 showdown against Hubert Hurkacz 4-6 6-2 6-4, and eighth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime knocked out Francisco Cerundolo 7-5 6-4.
Wawrinka reflects on 'tough year' after reaching ATP 1000 hard-court milestone
Stan Wawrinka reflected on a "really tough year" after racking up a new ATP 1000 milestone with his first-round victory over Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard at the Shanghai Masters.
The three-time grand slam champion secured a 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (8-6) victory in China in what was the first ATP meeting between the two.
According to Opta Ace, it represented Wawrinka's landmark 100th hard-court victory in ATP 1000 events, becoming the 12th player to do so.
Speaking on court after the victory, the veteran 39-year-old said: "It's been a really tough year so far, but I'm not getting younger so I'm trying to keep pushing myself.
"I'm happy with the match. I think it was a really good level. I was playing really good, one of the best matches of the year for me.
"He's such an aggressive player. It was great to be here, so much support here, so I'm enjoying my time in China."
Wawrinka, who only had five ATP wins this year before featuring in Shanghai, next faces Flavio Cobolli in round two.
Gauff rallies back against Starodubtseva to reach China Open semi-final
Coco Gauff came from behind to defeat Yuliia Starodubtseva and reach the semi-finals of the China Open.
Gauff was no match for the qualifier in the first set of Thursday's tie, but the American rallied back to win 2-6 6-2 6-2.
The world number six will face Paula Badosa, the 15th seed, on Saturday.
She is vying for a place in her first final since she triumphed in Auckland in January, and her first at a WTA 1000 event since she won the Cincinnati Open in 2023.
Data Debrief: Comeback queen
Including retirements, Gauff (two) has achieved multiple match wins from a set down at a single WTA 1000 event for the first time in her career, and for the first time at a single WTA event overall since last year's US Open.
Since the format's inception in 2009, meanwhile, only Caroline Wozniacki (eight) has reached more WTA 1000 semi-finals than Coco Gauff (seven) before turning 21. World number one Iga Swiatek (five) is the only other player to reach 5+ semi-finals over that span.
Badosa stands between Gauff and the final. She beat home hope Zhang Shuai in the quarters, and became the second Spaniard to reach the semi-finals of the China Open since the inception of the tournament in 2004 after Garbine Muguruza in 2015.
She is the second oldest player to reach the semi-finals of the China Open in their maiden appearance after Amelie Mauresmo in 2006.
Alcaraz lauds 'beast' Sinner after winning China Open classic
Carlos Alcaraz described Jannik Sinner as "a beast" and the world's best player after downing the Italian in Wednesday's remarkable China Open final.
Alcaraz and Sinner battled it out for over three hours in the Beijing showpiece match, with Alcaraz eventually triumphing 6-7 (6-8) 6-4 7-6 (7-3).
The Spaniard took the decisive tie-break with a remarkable run of seven straight points, having lost a tie-break in the opening set to fall behind.
At the age of 21 years and 150 days, Alcaraz is the youngest player to defeat the world number one in an ATP event final after losing the opening set since Juan Martin del Potro (20 years, 356 days), who came back to beat Roger Federer at the US Open in 2009.
Speaking after his sixth career win over the Italian (four defeats), Alcaraz outlined his belief he had overcome the very best in the sport.
"He could have won in two, I could have won in two, he could have won in three. It was a really close match," said Alcaraz.
"Jannik, once again, he showed that he's the best player in the world, at least for me.
"The level that he's playing, it's unbelievable. It's a really high quality of tennis. His shots, physically, mentally... he's a beast."
Sinner breezed into a 3-0 lead in the third-set tie-break, only for Alcaraz to show extraordinary resilience to maintain his 100% record against Sinner this year, having previously beaten him at Indian Wells and Roland Garros.
"I never lost hope. Honestly I knew that every tie-break Jannik plays is almost on his side," Alcaraz said of the decider.
"I thought that in the third set, I'm not going to lie down after two mini-breaks for him. I thought, 'okay, I have to give everything that I have just to try to give myself the opportunity to be close'.
"During the whole week I've been playing great tennis. Probably sometimes the luck went to my side a little bit in the matches."
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