Novak Djokovic saw off Britain’s Kyle Edmund on Thursday to reach his eighth Paris Masters quarter-final, where he will renew his burgeoning rivalry with Greek star Stefanos Tsitsipas.
The top seed, battling Rafael Nadal for the year-end world number one spot, needed seven set points in the first set before winning 7-6 (9/7), 6-1.
The 16-time Grand Slam champion is chasing a record-extending fifth Bercy title, but will next face world number seven Tsitsipas, who leads their head-to-head record 2-1.
Djokovic is hoping to tie Pete Sampras’ record of finishing six years as the world’s best player, but Nadal can be sure of denying the Serbian that achievement with a maiden Paris title this week.
The Spaniard takes on three-time Grand Slam title-winner Stan Wawrinka in his third-round match.
Former world number three Dimitrov produced a fantastic performance to beat fifth seed Thiem 6-3, 6-2 and reach the last eight in Paris for the first time.
It will also be the Bulgarian’s first Masters quarter-final since the Canadian Open last year as he continues his rise up the rankings.
Dimitrov was the world number 78 heading into the US Open, but reached the semi-finals and is now ranked 27th.
He will take on Cristian Garin for a semi-final spot, after the unseeded Chilean saved three match points in a deciding-set tie-break to end the run of French qualifier Jeremy Chardy.