The resurgent Lleyton Hewitt has blasted 10 aces to power into his third quarter-final in four ATP Tour events.
Continuing his good form ahead of the US Open starting next month, seventh-seeded Hewitt beat American wildcard Rhyne Williams 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 to reach the last eight at the Atlanta Open.
The 32-year-old former world No.1 trailed 6-2 in the first-set tiebreaker before reeling off six straight points to book a meeting with Croatian third seed Ivan Dodig, who beat Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis 6-1 6-7 (3-7) 6-3.
Hewitt is making an encouraging transition to the US hard courts after an impressive grasscourt season when he made the final at Newport, the second round at Wimbledon and semi-finals at the Queen's Club.
Fellow Australian Matt Ebden also advanced in Atlanta where his big-serving Croatian opponent Ivo Karlovic retired injured after losing the first set of their opening-round match 6-2.
But sixth seed Mardy Fish took a hit in his gradual return to fulltime tennis, falling 4-6 6-2 7-5 to fellow American Michael Russell.
It was only Fish's fourth match since the US Open last September when he withdrew before a fourth-round match because of an irregular heartbeat.
Ranked No.13 in the world last July, Fish - the Atlanta Open winner in 2010 and 2011 - fell to 1-3 this season.
He is ranked No.63, one spot higher than Hewitt, after his first match since losing in a lower-level ATP Challenger tournament in April.
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