Russia's Daniil Medvedev beat Australian Alex De Minaur 7-6 (7/3), 6-3 to reach the China Open quarterfinals on Saturday.
Medvedev, who is ranked 3rd in the world, led by 5-2 in the first set, but then committed too many errors, as he needed a tiebreak to see off the stirring comeback from the 12th-ranked De Minaur.
Medvedev rushed again to an early 5-2 lead in the second set, before his opponent put up a fight to take back the game, which proved to be in vain, as the second seed left him no chance with a fierce volley to wrap up the victory in almost two hours.
Medvedev will next face the winner between compatriot Andrey Rublev and French Ugo Humbert.
Daniil Medvedev in action during China Open men's singles round of 16 in Beijing, China, September 30, 2023. /CFP
The men's tournament in Beijing attracted a host of big names including seven of the world's eight top-ranked players, with the final set to take place on October 4.
Meanwhile, four-time Grand Slam winner Iga Wiatek attended a press conference in Beijing upon arrival, saying that she felt relieved of the "baggage" of defending the No. 1 title and that she was looking to switching up her game ahead of the tournament.
Swiatek dominated the top spot of world ranking for 75 consecutive weeks, but was halted by Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, who topped Swiatek as the new world No. 1 at the U.S. Open earlier this month.
Swiatek will kick start her campaign against Spain's Sara Sorribes Tormo, and Sabalenka will meet American Sofia Kenning in the first round tomorrow.
China's Zheng Qinwen, who took her first Asiad gold medal on Saturday in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, will also join the contention, as the WTA 1000 tournament is a crucial path to the season-ending finals.
The women's singles tournament gets under way on Saturday, with the final scheduled to take place on October 8.
(With input from AFP)