Daniil Medvedev fired off 13 aces to end British hope Dan Evans' US Open challenge with a quickfire 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 victory in the fourth round on Sunday.
Evans had survived a fifth set tiebreak against Alexei Popyrin to reach the last 16 but on day seven of the hardcourt major, he was no match for the Russian second seed.
Evans handed Medvedev the early break with a double fault in the fourth game of the first set and never recovered from that setback as the Russian belted 43 winners.
Medvedev, who lost in the final to Rafa Nadal two years ago, closed out the final game of the second set in less than a minute with a pair of aces and a service winner and won all of his first-serve points in the third on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
He sealed the match in one hour and 43 minutes to roars from the rowdy New York crowd, which he won over in a remarkable transformation from villain to fan-favourite in 2019, reaching the quarterfinals for the third year in a row.
"I knew I had to keep my focus from start to finish. I was serving good," said Medvedev. "I was trying to change up the game, mix up the game, and I'm really happy that I beat such a tough opponent with that score and with that much energy left."
He next faces Dutch qualifier Botic van de Zandschulp, who continued his unexpected run in the tournament by taming Argentine battler Diego Schwartzman 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 5-7, 6-1.
Van de Zandschulp, 117 in the world rankings, becomes just the third qualifier to reach the U.S. Open men's quarterfinals but could soon have company with German qualifiers Peter Gojowczyk and Oscar Otte looking to join him.
"I think what I have done for me, it's amazing that I beat number 11 here, especially in a match like this," said Van de Zandschulp, who next faces second seed Daniil Medvedev. "For me, it was the first time in the big stadium.
"The crowd was amazing here.
"The next match is maybe going to be on Arthur Ashe, I think. It's going to be even more people there, so, yeah, I'm looking forward to it."
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