Cameron Norrie powered into the Barcelona Open quarter-finals with a 6-4 6-3 victory against home favourite Roberto Bautista Agut.
The victory gave the British No. 1 his 200th career win on the ATP Tour and kept him on track for a sixth ATP title.
It looked as if the encounter between Norrie and Bautista Agut would be closely contested after they played out a fascinating 26-shot rally at 1-1.
But Norrie did not look back after he eventually hit the winner to break Bautista Agut and take a 2-1 lead.
The Barcelona Open’s 12th seed broke his opponent again in the seventh game, before holding to gain a 5-3 advantage.
Although Bautista Agut crept back into the encounter by winning the next game, Norrie successfully served out the set.
He then earned break points in the first, third and ninth games of the second set to wrap up the victory in one hour and 24 minutes.
“I think on the score it was easy, but there were a lot of tough points in there,” Norrie told Sky Sports.
“I was really pleased with how I handled myself when serving for the first set. I had a couple of tough games at the end of the second set there and played a good game to break as well.
“So I was very, very solid and I converted the points when I was aggressive. I felt like I was moving well, and I was pleased with my footwork.”
Norrie revealed he was not aware he had just won his 200th match on the ATP Tour, but said reaching the milestone made him feel “very good.”
“I didn’t actually know that. I know that yesterday Roberto [Bautista Agut] got 400. So I’m halfway to his. To get 400 wins is impressive.
“I didn’t know that, but I’ll take that 200th win against a top player.”