Exhausted Andy Murray battled into a singles quarter-final for the first time in a year on Wednesday — and then immediately grabbed a snooze.
The former world number one outlasted fellow Briton Cameron Norrie 7-6 (8/6), 6-7 (4/7), 6-1 over nearly three gruelling hours in hot and hazy Beijing.
The 32-year-old, now ranked a lowly 503, will play top seed Dominic Thiem in the last eight of the China Open on Friday.
“I’m tired, I just had a sleep before coming. I mean, I’m really tired,” he said during press conference.
The hard-fought triumph over 69th-ranked Norrie means he reaches the last eight in singles on the ATP Tour for the first time since Shenzhen in September last year.
Also into the quarter-finals was Russian fourth seed Karen Khachanov, a 7-6 (7/0), 7-6 (7/5) winner over France’s Jeremy Chardy. He faces the Italian Fabio Fognini.
Barty advances
In the women’s draw, world number one Ashleigh Barty will face Czech seventh seed Petra Kvitova in the quarter-finals.
The top-ranked Australian, 23, beat home hope Zheng Saisai 6-3, 6-7 (5/7), 6-2, but was unhappy to have been forced to three sets.
“I think I was pretty loose, I played a pretty stupid (second) set,” said Barty.
“I gave away cheap service games... when I did have my opportunity, I didn’t take it.
“A bit of a frustrating one.”
Teenage US Open champion Bianca Andreescu reached the last 16 with a 6-3, 7-6 (7/5) victory over Belgium’s unseeded Elise Mertens. She next meets Jennifer Brady.