Top seed Novak Djokovic surged into the quarter-finals of the ATP Montreal Masters on Thursday and was the last of the top players remaining after Roger Federer fell to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Djokovic, the newly crowned world number one, claimed his 50th win of the season, beating Croatian Marin Cilic 7-5, 6-2, as he closed in on his ninth title.
Federer lost to Tsonga for the second time this summer, going down 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 6-1.
The match came weeks after the burly Frenchman beat the Swiss master in the Wimbledon quarter-finals, when he staged an incredible comeback from two sets down.
Federer now travels to the Cincinnati Masters, his last event before the US Open, which begins on August 29.
The 30-year-old's only title this season came in Doha in early January. “He's playing well. I thought if he was going to play well again, and me not at my best, he could do it again," Federer said of Tsonga.
Compatriot Gael Monfils, seeded fifth, joined him in the last eight, saving three match points in a 3-6, 7-6 (7/0), 7-6 (7/5) win over Serb Viktor Troicki.
{{/usCountry}}Compatriot Gael Monfils, seeded fifth, joined him in the last eight, saving three match points in a 3-6, 7-6 (7/0), 7-6 (7/5) win over Serb Viktor Troicki.
{{/usCountry}}Djokovic advanced comfortably despite challenging conditions. “It was quite a bit different than yesterday, there was a lot of wind involved,” Djokovic said. “It wasn't really a beautiful match to play and to watch.”
Upsets in Toronto
Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova and French Open winner Li Na both crashed out of the Toronto WTA tournament on Thursday.
Serena Williams avoided joining them after rallying from behind to beat Zheng Jie. Fifth seed Maria Sharapova, too, lost in straight sets, to Kazakh qualifier Galina Voskoboeva.