Norrie thrashes Barrios Vera at Rio Open
Written by I Dig SportsBritish number one Cameron Norrie swept aside Tomas Barrios Vera 6-1 6-1 to reach the Rio Open quarter-finals.
The defending champion needed just a minute over an hour on Thursday to beat the Chilean, whose serve was broken six times in the one-sided contest.
Norrie hit 21 winners in his victory on the clay and will play Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild next.
"I really played well and I was really accurate," said Norrie, who has slipped to 23rd in the ATP world rankings.
"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."
In Doha, Czech teenager Jakub Mensik, who beat Andy Murray in the second round, produced an even greater upset by knocking out world number five Andrey Rublev 6-4 7-6 (8-6) in the Qatar Open quarter-finals.
The 18-year-old hit 10 aces as he secured a first win against a top-five player to set up a semi-final against 37-year-old Frenchman Gael Monfils, who beat compatriot Ugo Humbert 6-2 6-4.
"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 and go on to make the final."