British number one Cameron Norrie reached the quarter-finals of the Indian Wells Masters for the third year running courtesy of a two-set win over Russia's Andrey Rublev.
The 2021 champion took just one hour and 78 minutes to post a 2-6 4-6 victory, setting up a last-eight tie with Frances Tiafoe or Alejandro Tabilo in the process.
Early nerves seemed to get the better of both men, who shared three breaks between them in the opening three games of the match before Norrie earned the first hold in the fourth for a 3-1 lead.
Despite moving 40-0 up on serve in the seventh game, a spate of untimely errors for Rublev saw the Russian broken again, and Norrie took the first set in style, sealing a love hold with an ace.
Another double fault and unforced error from Rublev quickly handed Norrie the first break of the second set in game three, but he had to beat away two break points in the sixth to hold for a 4-2 advantage.
The writing was seemingly on the wall for Rublev when Norrie earned the double break for a 5-2 lead, but the world number seven broke straight back to keep the contest alive.
However, as he had done throughout the match, Norrie forced Rublev wide with a powerful serve before sending one final forehand winner down the line to book his place in the last eight.
Ben Knapton
