Novak Djokovic continued his pursuit of a 100th career title by dismantling Italian youngster Flavio Cobolli to reach the last 16 of the Shanghai Masters.
The 37-year-old Serb was sharp and clinical in a 6-1 6-2 win, which took little over an hour.
Cobolli, who grew up idolising the 24-time Grand Slam champion, could not cope with Djokovic’s ability to anticipate the rallies and rarely miss a return.
As well as his unerring precision with clean groundstrokes from the baseline, Djokovic’s high level ensured he conceded only seven points on serve.
Next, the world number four will face Russia’s Roman Safiullin for a place in the quarter-finals.
Djokovic is aiming to become only the third man – after Jimmy Connors (109) and Roger Federer (103) – to clock up a century of tournament victories.
Making his first return to Shanghai since 2019, Djokovic acknowledged the prospect of winning a landmark title is giving him “extra motivation” in the ATP 1,000 event.
Djokovic has scaled back his schedule as prioritises the biggest events and this year has played his second-fewest number of matches in a single season since 2005.
The manner in which he overwhelmed 22-year-old Cobolli, ranked 30th in the world after a impressive breakthrough season, was a reminder of the threat he poses.
“I was pretty sharp,” said Djokovic.
“From the beginning, I had a clear gameplan of what I needed to do, staying aggressive and use every short ball to take initiative in the point. I’ve done that.
“I’m very glad for the performance.”
Tiafoe faces hefty fine after swearing at umpire
Moments after Djokovic clinched victory, Safiullin served out to win a final-set tie-break against American 13th seed Frances Tiafoe.
Tiafoe, 26, reacted angrily towards chair umpire Jimmy Pinoargote after losing 5-7 7-5 7-6 (7-5), launching a flurry of expletives in the Ecuadorian official’s direction.
Tiafoe could face a fine of up to $60,000 (£46,000) for the outburst, classified as a verbal abuse offence in the ATP rules.
The incident could be escalated if tournament officials feel it was “flagrant and particularly injurious to the success of a tournament, or singularly egregious”.
If Tiafoe’s actions are considered an ‘offence of aggravated behaviour’ or ‘conduct contrary to the integrity of the game’, the two-time US Open semi-finalist could lose his prize money.
Tiafoe’s outburst came after a defeat that turned on the American being given a time violation at 5-5 in the tie-break.
He claimed he tossed the ball up to serve, but Pinoargote disagreed it was a legitimate throw intended to start the point and penalised him.
Forced to start with a second serve, Tiafoe lost the point after an exciting all-court exchange for 6-5 to Safiullin, who clinched victory at the first attempt.
Meanwhile, American seventh seed Taylor Fritz, Bulgarian ninth seed Grigor Dimitrov and Greek 10th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas were among the other winners on Tuesday.
Tsitsipas beat France’s Alexandre Muller to set up a fourth-round meeting with Russian fifth seed Daniil Medvedev, relaunching a rivalry that has provided drama in the past.
