Top seed Novak Djokovic, starved for competitive action, feasted against unseeded Briton Kyle Edmund, gobbling up a large serving of points in a 6-2 6-1 6-4 romp on Sunday that put him into the US Open quarter-finals.
Djokovic had a second-round walkover as Czech Jiri Vesely withdrew due to injury, and was leading 4-2 in his third-round match when Russian Mikhail Youzhny retired with a leg ailment making it six days since his last full match.
The Serb kept himself busy on practice courts but looked elated to cut loose against an actual opponent, making Edmund the target of his arsenal of rifled groundstroke, angled volleys, pinpoint passing shots, lobs and drop shots.
"Feels great to play a match," Djokovic said in an on-court interview. "I haven't played much tennis.
"Baseline shots, both forehand and backhand, were working very well. Think I was most pleased with that."
After the first two lopsided sets, Edmund made the third set competitive and was on serve at 4-4 before the Serb closed out the set to end the match.
Djokovic's victory put him into the last eight against ninth-seeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, a 6-3 6-3 6-7(7) 6-2 winner against American 26th seed Jack Sock.
Rafael Nadal crashed out losing a five-set thriller to France's Lucas Pouille in the fourth round at Flushing Meadows.
Nadal saved three match points in a pulsating final-set tie-break, but could not avert the fourth as Pouille triumphed 6-1 2-6 6-4 3-6 7-6 (8/6).
The 14-time major champion has now failed to go past the fourth round in his last five grand slams, while Pouille advances to meet fellow Frenchman Gael Monfils in the quarter-finals.
Monfils sauntered to a straight-sets dismissal of Marcos Baghdatis.
Monfils, who has enjoyed a run of success this hard court season, maintained his impressive form with a 6-3 6-2 6-3 romp.
Monfils, playing a familiar foe, was well prepared for his round-of-16 test and executed his game plan.
"He's a good friend, I know him for a long time," said the 30-year-old Monfils.
"We had many battles in juniors and we have many also on the senior tour.
"I had to be very consistent with my serve because he's a pretty good returner. I was very fast on the baseline, so I guess everything was fine today."
Monfils, twice before a US Open quarter-finalist, served up nine aces and gave himself a cushion with six service breaks against the Cypriot, who put only 36% of his first serves in play.
In the last couple of months, the 10th seed has posted a 17-2 record, winning the biggest ATP World Tour title of his career at the 500 level tournament in Washington, reaching the semi-finals at the ATP Masters 1000 in Toronto and advancing to the quarter-finals at the Rio Olympics.
The 31-year-old Baghdatis, runner-up this season in Dubai and a semi-finalist in Newport, was making his first fourth-round showing in a grand slam since the 2009 Australian Open.
