World number one Daniil Medvedev wore down Denis Shapovalov 7-5 7-5 to reach the quarter-finals of the Cincinnati Open on Thursday ahead of his U.S. Open title defence.
The Russian top seed was joined in the last eight by Stefanos Tsitsipas, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Borna Coric but his compatriot Andrey Rublev, the sixth seed, was ousted by Taylor Fritz.
Medvedev suffered a jarring early exit from the Canadian Masters last week but overcame some initial problems in a tricky tie against Shapovalov to edge both sets and book a meeting with American Fritz.
“In general, I managed to be pretty constant,” said Medvedev.
“I got a lot of break opportunities. Broke first in the first set. Served pretty well even in the game where I lost my serve. In general, happy with my level and looking forward to the next matches.”
Fritz had to fight back from a set down to beat Rublev 6-7(4) 6-2 7-5 on Center Court, finding his rhythm in the second set and pounding a dozen winners past the Russian to ensure he would continue his rise up the rankings.