In-form Norrie blasts into Rio Open quarter-finals, Ruud sets Tsitsipas date in Los Cabos

Cameron Norrie stormed into the quarter-finals of the Rio Open with a resounding straight-sets win over Tomas Barrios Vera.

The British No. 1 completed a 6-1 6-1 victory in just 59 minutes to set up a tie with home favourite Thiago Seyboth Wild next.

Second seed Norrie is the defending champion in Brazil and found his form on a night where he struck 21 winners, made just eight unforced errors and broke his opponent’s serve six times.

“I really played well and I was really accurate,” said Norrie. “I hit close to the lines and was very disciplined on the return. I enjoyed it.”

He added: “I’m going to keep focusing on myself and my level and I want to make sure to keep taking care of my matches like that.”

Norrie’s meeting with Seyboth Wild will be a career first, after the Brazilian saw off Jaume Munar 6-3 4-6 6-3.

The winner of their meeting will face Joao Fonseca or Mariano Navone in the semi-finals.

On the other side of the draw, fifth seed Sebastien Baez defeated Buenos Aires champion Facundo Diaz Acosta in straight sets to set up a tie against Brazilian wild card Thiago Monteiro.

Fourth seed Francisco Cerundolo will face Dusan Lajovic in the other quarter-final.

In Los Cabos, Casper Ruud moved into the semi-finals to continue an impressive week with a 6-3 6-2 win over Nuno Borges.

There he will face Stefanos Tsitsipas, who overcame Aleksandar Kovacevic 7-6(1) 6-3.

The winner of that match will face top seed Alexander Zverev or Jordan Thompson in the final, following their respective victories over Thanasi Kokkinakis and Alex Michelsen.

In Doha, 18-year-old sensation Jakub Mensik continued his dream week by knocking out top seed Andrey Rublev.

“It’s just been an incredible week from the beginning I played very well and I knew I could play with the big players. It’s an amazing feeling to reach the semi-finals after beating those good players,” Mensik said.

“But the job is not done yet. Hopefully I can play like this again in the semis tomorrow and go on to make the final.”

Mensik will face Gael Monfils for a place in the final, while Alexei Popyrin will take on Karen Khachanov in the other semi after their wins over Alexander Bublik and Emil Ruusuvuori respectively.