Great Britain's Jack Draper stunned Taylor Fritz to advance to the quarter-finals of the Indian Wells Masters, but Sonay Kartal was thrashed by world number one Aryna Sabalenka.
The ever-impressive Draper backed up his previous wins over Joao Fonseca and Jenson Brooksby with a terrific 7-5 6-4 victory over third seed Fritz as he chases a first-ever ATP 1000 semi-final appearance.
However, Kartal's contest with top seed Sabalenka was a mismatch on paper, and it proved to be a mismatch on the court too, as the Belarusian eliminated the lucky loser 6-1 6-2 to reach the last eight.
Draper's third-round triumph over Brooksby came in spite of the 13th seed getting off to a slow start, but there was no repeat of the 23-year-old's early struggles against Fritz, where he was near-unflappable on serve and lethal on return.
Following five straight holds for both players, an unforced error from Fritz gave Draper the first break for a 6-5 lead, one that he backed up with a hold to 15 before threatening to run away with the second set.
The US Open semi-finalist surged into a 4-0 lead with a double break against the beleaguered Fritz, and even though the American broke back for 3-5 thanks to a Draper double fault while he was serving for the match, he only delayed the 23-year-old's progression.
The British number one now prepares to meet Fritz's compatriot Ben Shelton for the first time in the quarter-finals, and the winner of that contest could take on defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in the semis.
Kartal's magical run ends with Sabalenka thrashing
© Imago
However, Draper's fellow Brit Kartal could not produce the shock of all shocks against Sabalenka, as her magnificent run at Indian Wells came to an end with a comprehensive thrashing at the hands of the Belarusian.
The fourth-round battle was a historic one, as it marked the first time in a WTA 1000 event that a lucky loser faced the world number one from the last 16 onwards, but the gulf in quality was on full display.
Kartal threatened an almighty upset as she broke Sabalenka in the opening game, but the top seed responded ruthlessly by winning each of the next six games to take the first set, before also breaking the Briton straight off the bat in the second.
Kartal managed just two more holds before Sabalenka surged into the quarter-finals on her first match point, taking just one hour and 11 minutes to prevail in that fourth-round showdown.
The Belarusian's last-eight opponent will be Russia's Liudmila Samsonova, and she could meet Madison Keys in the semi-finals for what would be a repeat of this year's Australian Open showpiece match.
Ben Knapton
