Back at a happy hunting ground, Alex de Minaur has fired up to reach his first ATP quarter-final in more than three months and match a milestone of Spanish sensation Carlos Alcaraz.
Seventh-seeded de Minaur out-gunned big-serving Czech Jiri Lehecka 7-6 (7-4) 6-7 (6-8) 6-4 to power into the last eight at the Washington Open, the scene of the Australian's maiden ATP 500 final in 2018.
De Minaur's supreme returns and counter-punching yielded three breaks while he also crunched eight aces in dropping serve only twice in a tight encounter lasting two and three quarter hours.
