Alex de Minaur has gone down - fighting, as usual - to Daniil Medvedev at the China Open but the Australian star still left his conqueror singing his praises in Beijing.
Sydneysider de Minaur showed familiar resilience as he rallied to force a first-set tie break in their last-16 contest on Saturday and world No.3 Medvedev sounded relieved to finally subdue him 7-6 (7-3) 6-3.
"It was tough, tough like always," admitted the Russian on court after a tussle lasting just under two hours.
"Alex has this ability, everyone knows it that when he's down, he starts to play better. That's what happened today.
"First set, I didn't manage to count him down (when he was 5-2 behind), as he was playing better because he was down. Second set, I managed to play just unbelievable.
"It's crazy how every time he is down in a match, you know he is going to start playing like he is No.1 in the world. Tough to play against him, a tough victory, but I am happy with my level."
Medvedev has found de Minaur a real handful ever since the Australian beat him at last year's Paris Masters.
It was the third time they've met in seven weeks, with de Minaur having won at the Canadian Open before losing a four-setter to the Russian in the US Open last-16.
World No.12 de Minaur saved six break points as Medvedev applied the pressure but ended up being broken three times by the in-form Russian who won a tour-leading 40th hard-court match of the season.
"Confidence is key. When I am in good shape and good form, I have this ability to win these kinds of matches in straight sets," said Medvedev.
"If I'm missing just two per cent of what I'm doing right now, that's when it's tougher. That's what happened in Toronto.
"I should have won the first set there. It's a matter of a few points. At this moment, it's working."
The defeat was a severe setback for de Minaur in his bid to qualify for the end-of-season ATP Finals in Italy, featuring the eight best men's singles players of the year. He's now slipped back to 12th in the 'Race to Turin'.
In the quarter-finals, second seed Medvedev will face Frenchman Ugo Humbert, who caused a shock by knocking out Andrey Rublev 5-7 6-3 7-6 (7-3).
Olympic champion Alexander Zverev also made the quarter-finals with a win against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, and, for the second evening running, he had health issues to overcome.
While seeming to have trouble breathing, the German fought on for a 6-7 (4-7) 6-2 6-1 win to set up a last-eight duel with Chile's Nicolas Jarry.
