Dominic Thiem advanced to the Australian Open quarter-finals for the first time on Monday, cruising past No. 10 seed Gael Monfils 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 after one hour and 50 minutes.

“I think that I played my best match so far of this Australian Open. A very, very good feeling,” Thiem said on court after his triumph. “The score looks way easier than the match was. I think I was lucky to make an early break in each set and then was managing to hold my serve well. I’m so happy because I’m for the first time in the quarter-finals here.”

Thiem arrived in Melbourne having lost two of his three matches at the inaugural ATP Cup. And in his two most recent Grand Slam appearances — at last year’s Wimbledon and the US Open — he lost in the first round. But after coming from two sets to one down against Aussie wild card Alex Bolt in the second round, Thiem has rounded into form, winning eight of his past nine sets to reach the quarter-finals.

Thiem will next face top-seeded Rafael Nadal (4-9) or Aussie Nick Kyrgios (0-1), the No. 23 seed. The Austrian has a losing ATP Head2Head record against both players.

“I couldn’t be happier to be done, to be in the quarter-finals and to watch that, relax from home. I’m also very excited for that match,” Thiem said. “Obviously it’s going to be such an entertaining contest tonight and then also in two days, it doesn’t matter who I face. So I’m really excited to watch that match and may the better one win tonight.”

Monfils walked onto Rod Laver Arena with confidence, losing only one set in his first three matches to put himself in position to play for his second trip to the last eight at Melbourne Park. But Thiem carried a 5-0 ATP Head2Head lead against the Frenchman into the match, and it showed.

Far too often, Monfils left balls in the middle of the court, allowing the heavy-hitting Thiem to push the No. 10 seed wherever he pleased. And even though Monfils is as fleet afoot as anyone on the ATP Tour, he wasn’t doing enough to push the Austrian off the baseline. When Monfils tried to up his aggression, that led to more unforced errors. And when the pair got into cat-and-mouse points, which Monfils typically excels in behind his world-class athleticism, Thiem always had the answer.

Thiem earned two breaks in the opening set to set the tone, and he never relinquished his momentum, going the entire match without facing a break point. The Austrian struck 31 winners to 19 unforced errors.

“I always played my best tennis against him, so maybe that’s one reason,” Thiem said of his success against Monfils.

At 3-3 in the second set, the physicality of the match began to show in Monfils, who hunched over after a 32-shot rally. In that same game, Monfils served and volleyed on break point, following in a kick serve to Thiem’s backhand, but he missed a backhand volley wide. From there, Thiem was off to the races.

In the first game of the third set, Monfils sprayed an inside-out forehand wide from the middle of the court wide. And Thiem won his service games the rest of the way, holding the final game to love.

There is no doubt that Andrey Rublev is one of the players of the moment. The Russian will play in the fourth round of the Australian Open on Monday against Alexander Zverev after producing a spectacular start to the year, in which he has won all 11 matches he has played, including titles in Doha and Adelaide.

Shortly before battling for a place in the quarter-finals at the season’s first major, Fernando Vicente, the Russian’s coach, sat down with ATPTour.com to analyse what the World No. 16 has achieved.

On Winning Two Titles To Start The Year…
“I’m very happy because he deserves it. I’m surprised at the results, but he works so hard and puts so much into it… Rublev is a very good player, he’s been playing well and of course it’s not easy to win tournaments”, says Vicente of the trophies picked up by his charge in Doha and Adelaide in the first two weeks of the season. “He’s playing very well, hitting the ball amazingly well and [is] very content mentally. It’s been many years since that last happened, but he still has a lot to improve on… he lacks a little in reactions and his second serve and he could come to the net more.”

Being Unbeaten Thus Far In 2020…
“He’s tired, but he’s coped with it”, Vicente says. “He’s not overwhelmed, he knows he has several wins under his belt here in Melbourne, and in Goffin he beat one of the big opponents, one of the best in the world. Rublev wants to reach that level.”

On Rublev’s Evolution In Their Four Years Together…
“This is our fourth year, and he’s changed everything”, recognises Vicente, who started to train Rublev when he was a junior. “He’s a very restless person and he didn’t have much [of an] idea of how to play tactically. He wouldn’t see what was happening. We laid the foundations for learning while we worked on his physical strength… He really liked hitting it hard, but he wasn’t used to running.”

On Rublev’s Character…
“The mental side is very important,” confesses the Spanish coach. “He’s trying to control himself because sometimes he goes crazy, and his opponents know that. He has to accept that other people play well, too. Now he’s more relaxed.

“On court there is no problem because he loves playing and he’ll put in whatever hours you ask of him without saying a word. The problem is more about controlling his emotions, being capable of seeing what is happening on the other side of the net, managing his nerves and not showing them.

“A lot of the time that comes from being demanding: he can do nine things well and one badly, and he beats himself up about it too much. He doesn’t deserve that. Nobody can get every ball on the line at five thousand miles an hour.”

On One-On-One Conversations With Rublev In The Early Hours…
“With Rublev you really have to choose the right moment to tell him things”, says Vicente. “On court it’s very hard. His mind is a little unusual. Sometimes we are up until five in the morning talking in the hotel because he’s lost a match.

“Last year in Paris, when he had just won in Moscow, we were up until four in the morning talking one-to-one for two nights because he was feeling receptive, and it was a good time to analyse what he does well and what he does badly, where he makes mistakes, how he can improve as a person.”