British number one Jack Draper cruised past Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi 6-0 6-4 to reach the semi-finals of the Madrid Open and will move into the top five in the world for the first time in his career.
Englishman Draper won the first set in just 25 minutes.
World number 44 Arnaldi won his first two service games in the second before Draper made the crucial break with a fierce cross-court winner to take a 3-2 lead.
The 23-year-old Englishman, who won the Indian Wells title in March, then held serve and went on to claim victory in one hour and 17 minutes.
The dominant Draper dropped just 10 points on his serve without facing a break point and will overtake Grand Slam record-holder Novak Djokovic to move into the world’s top five on Monday.
Draper, the highest seeded player remaining in the tournament, will face Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti or Canada’s Gabriel Diallo in his first ATP clay court semi-final.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Draper said: “I feel stronger every time I play.
“Against these guys I used to feel like I would be the one on the back foot, the one defending, so the next part of my game was getting capable physically to do the things I know I can do and bully these guys.
“I have been doing everything in all areas pretty well and am excited to keep on going. Hopefully it keeps coming together.
“You see guys like Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have no fear and so I just want to go after it, I suppose.
“My forehand is doing a lot of damage and I want to keep it up.
“I know I can win any match and lose any match. I am fearful I could lose but that helps me compete the way I do.”
