Australian rising star Alex de Minaur has vowed to live up to his 'Demon' nickname after unleashing his attacking prowess to book a quarter-final spot at the Sydney International.
De Minaur was leading Damir Dzumhur 6-2 3-0 on Wednesday when the world No.30 retired to become the teenager's fourth top-50 scalp in a stunning week.
It wasn't quite so positive for fellow Australian John Millman, who couldn't keep up his strong start against second seed Gilles Muller.
Millman led 4-2 in the opening set before falling to a tiebreak and, despite saving two match points in the second, ultimately fell 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 to the Luxembourger, who will face Frenchman Benoit Paire in Thursday's quarter-finals.
But de Minaur, the last Australian man standing, will headline the final eight against Feliciano Lopez, after the Spaniard overcame third seed Diego Schwartzman.
Victory on Ken Rosewall Arena will see him progress to his second semi-final in as many tournaments following last week's last-four Brisbane International effort.
"I'm enjoying every second of it, it's great," the Sydney local said.
"I'm playing some unbelievable tennis and I just want to keep it going really."
In contrast to his victory over Fernando Verdasco on Tuesday, when he showed off his trademark defensive game, de Minaur dictated proceedings against his Bosnian counterpart.
De Minaur twice broke Dzumhur in the first set and refused to let up in the second with an early inroad before the frustrated 25-year-old called it quits.
He had a total nine break points - converting five - compared to Dzumhur's one.
De Minaur admitted his confidence had soared after clinching a spot in the main draw of next week's Australian Open during last month's wildcard play-offs.
Now he plans to let the demon loose as he continues to ride the Aussie wave.
"I always knew I had the level, but I didn't think I had the belief when I stepped out on court," de Minaur said.
"But now I've got that belief in me that I can go toe to toe with lots of guys out there so I'm going into every match believing in myself and my ability."
Earlier on Wednesday, the upsets continued when men's top seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas was bundled out in his opening match of the tournament.
After enjoying a first-round bye, Spanish world No. 22 Ramos-Vinolas crashed to a 6-3 7-5 loss to Italian veteran Paolo Lorenzi, who will next face Russian qualifier Daniil Medvedev.
Also contesting the quarter-finals will be fourth seed Fabio Fognini against fifth seed Adrian Mannarino.
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