Cameron Norrie sealed a semi-final spot at the Rio Open, continuing his title defence by seeing off Brazil’s Thiago Seyboth Wild in front of his own fans.
The British number one secured a 6-1 3-6 6-2 victory to head into the last four.
Norrie lost just two games in a handsome win over Tomas Barrios Vera in the previous round and picked up exactly where he left off on the clay.
He raced out of the traps, breaking Seyboth Wild’s second and third service games and holding his own to take the first set in little more than half-an-hour.
The stands filled up considerably after a quiet start and Seyboth Wild fed off the growing support as he put together a much-improved showing to level the scores.
With his opponent starting to grow in confidence and the noise levels rising, Norrie allowed errors to creep in with cracks in his first serve and a misjudged long forehand seeing him broken for the first time.
Seyboth Wild was strong enough to make that breakthrough count and set up a deciding set but found Norrie back on his game as he tore into a 5-1 lead, breaking twice more along the way.
Norrie missed his chance to finish things off at the first attempt, burning three match points as his South American opponent showed admirable resilience in a see-saw exchange of winners.
But he soon stacked up three more match points against the serve and converted the second of them as Seyboth Wild’s unforced error ended his fight after just under two hours.
“I was really proud of how hard I fought, it was so humid and tough physically,” he told Sky Sports.
“It was a tough one and the atmosphere was great. These are exactly the kind of matches you want to play.”
Keys downs Gauff to reach Madrid Open quarter-finals
Madison Keys is through to the quarter-final of the Madrid Open for the first time in her career after rallying to a 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 6-4 win over Coco Gauff on Monday.
The 29-year-old trailed 5-2 in the first set and 4-2 in the third set but rallied in both to come from behind to beat the number three seed.
Despite winning the second set, Gauff struggled to find her rhythm, suffering from 13 double faults, including two in the final game.
Keys will face former Madrid Open champion Ons Jabeur for a spot in the semi-final after the number eight seed overcame Jelena Ostapenko in straight sets.
Data debrief: Keys reaches new milestone
Having lost in the first round in seven of her nine previous trips to the Spanish capital, Keys has now bettered her previous best finish in Madrid - a third-round showing in 2016.
Keys hadn't won three matches in a row since reaching the US Open semifinals last year.
Keys downs Gauff to reach Madrid quarter-finals
Madison Keys is through to the quarter-final of the Madrid Open for the first time in her career after rallying to a 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 6-4 win over Coco Gauff on Monday.
The 29-year-old trailed 5-2 in the first set and 4-2 in the third set but rallied in both to come from behind to beat the number three seed.
Despite winning the second set, Gauff struggled to find her rhythm, suffering from 13 double faults, including two in the final game.
Keys will face former Madrid Open champion Ons Jabeur for a spot in the semi-final after the number eight seed overcame Jelena Ostapenko in straight sets.
Data debrief: Keys reaches new milestone
Having lost in the first round in seven of her nine previous trips to the Spanish capital, Keys has now bettered her previous best finish in Madrid - a third-round showing in 2016.
Keys hadn't won three matches in a row since reaching the US Open semifinals last year.
Nadal goes the distance to reach Madrid Open last 16
Rafael Nadal battled to victory over three hours on the court against Pedro Cachin at the Madrid Open on Monday to seal a 6-1 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 win to reach the last 16.
The former world number one looked back to his best as he cruised through the opening set but was pushed hard in the second by Cachin.
Nadal came from behind to level at 5-5, but Cachin eventually sealed the set on his third set point.
The Spaniard then rallied in the third set, cutting down on his errors to regain control and advance to the fourth round at a tour-level event for the first time since 2022.
Nadal is one step away from booking his place in a 10th consecutive quarter-final in Madrid and will face Jiri Lehecka on Tuesday in the next round after the 30th seed overcame Brazilian qualifier Thiago Monteiro in two sets.
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