Top seed Carlos Alcaraz moved into the Indian Wells Open quarter-finals after Jack Draper retired down 6-2 2-0 due to an abdominal injury in their last-16 clash on Tuesday.
Alcaraz was in control, winning the first set in 36 minutes before racing to a 2-0 lead inside 10 minutes before the Briton withdrew. Draper had battled the injury in the latter stages of Monday's win over Andy Murray.
Despite that, the Spaniard looked in good touch, setting up a quarter-final meeting with eighth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, who has a 3-0 head-to-head record against him.
"I felt the ball really well. I'm really happy with that part," Alcaraz said. "I would say I returned well, I hit great shots. I finished the match with confidence in my shots, to come into the next round with more confidence."
Auger-Aliassime saved six match points in a dramatic triumph over 17th seed Tommy Paul to reach the last eight, winning 3-6 6-3 7-6 (8-6) in two hours and 48 minutes.
The Canadian trailed 0-40 on serve at 5-6 in the deciding set before winning the next five points. He repeated that feat, down 3-6 in the tie-break, capitalising on his first match point. Auger-Aliassime hit 31 winners for the match, along with 51 unforced errors.
Fifth seed Daniil Medvedev fought back from a set down and a rolled ankle to progress past Alexander Zverev 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (7-5) 7-5 in three hours and 10 minutes.
Medvedev rolled his ankle in the sixth game of the second set, going down in pain but played on, in his longest-ever three-set match. The victory is the Russian's 17th in a row. Zverev committed 50 unforced errors across the match.
The Russian will take on Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the last eight, with the Spaniard winning 6-3 6-4 over Chilean qualifier Cristian Garin.
Jannik Sinner cruised past Stanislas Wawrinka 6-1 6-4 in one hour and 39 minutes to move into the last eight where he will face reigning champion Taylor Fritz. The American won 6-4 6-3 over Hungary's Martin Fucsovics in one hour and 41 minutes.
British 10th seed Cameron Norrie will play 14th seed Frances Tiafoe in the other quarter-final, with the former winning 6-2 6-4 over the higher-ranked Andrey Rublev. Tiafoe won 6-4 6-4 over Alejandro Tabilo in 83 minutes for his 150th career win.
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.
Dominant Gauff double bagels Rus at Madrid Open
Coco Gauff made a flying start to her Madrid Open campaign on Thursday, recording the first double bagel main-draw win of her career as she cruised past Arantxa Rus to reach the round of 32.
Gauff needed just 51 minutes to see off 33-year-old Rus as she booked a meeting with Ukraine's Dayana Yamstremska for Saturday.
The US Open champion lost just 18 points throughout the match – eight in the opener and 10 in the second set – as she put any doubts over her recent form to bed in emphatic fashion.
Gauff's power proved too much for Rus in the opener, the third seed winning 88 per cent of points behind her first serve and converting three of four break points to go a set up in just 23 minutes.
Rus brought up four break points midway through the second set, but when she failed to convert them, Gauff punished her in ruthless fashion by reeling off another three games then finishing things with a terrific forehand winner.
Speaking after her win, the American said: "I played really well today. It was just one of those days for me… 6-0 6-0, I've never done that before, I'll probably never do it again."
Data Debrief: Gauff matches Azarenka, Halep feat
Gauff is just the third player to register a 6-0 6-0 win in the women's singles draw at the Madrid Open, following in the footsteps of two former world number ones in Victoria Azarenka and Simona Halep.
The American, who only turned 20 last month, is also the youngest player to double bagel an opponent in any main-draw match on the WTA Tour since Iga Swiatek did so against Karolina Pliskova in the 2021 Italian Open final in Rome.
Nadal cruises past teen Blanch to tee up De Minaur rematch in Madrid
Darwin Blanch presented little challenge for Rafael Nadal, who dropped just one game in a convincing 6-1 6-0 triumph at the Madrid Open.
Nadal is feeling his way back to fitness, but 16-year-old qualifier Blanch offered little resistance to the 22-time major champion on Thursday.
Making his farewell appearance at the Madrid Open, where he has won five titles, Nadal needed just 64 minutes to progress to round two.
"I think today I played against an opponent with a great future in front [of him], but today, still making mistakes," said Nadal.
"I just tried to be there, be solid all the time without taking a lot of risks. It worked well. I'm happy to be through and I wish him all the very best for the future."
Nadal's reward is a rematch with Alex de Minaur, who he lost to last week in Barcelona.
Data Debrief
This game saw the largest age gap (21 years, 117 days) between two opponents in the history of ATP Masters 1000 events.
Nadal has now registered 57 wins at the Madrid Open, which is 20 clear of any other player.
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