Stefanos Tsitsipas held off a late challenge from Spanish 12th seed Pablo Carreno Busta to advance into the quarter-finals of the French Open with a 6-3 6-2 7-5 victory.
The Greek, who won two titles on clay in the lead-up to Roland Garros, was barely troubled in the first two sets, often charging to the net and easily reading his opponent's serve.
But a lack of precision in key moments allowed Carreno Busta to threaten a comeback in the third, only for the fifth seed to tighten his grip again and make sure he wasted little time on court Philippe Chatrier.
Tsitsipas, a semi-finalist here last year, will face either world number two Daniil Medvedev of Russia or Chile's Cristian Garin.
"The fans love it, I love it, I love playing with people, I love attention," Tsitsipas, who played his previous match in an empty stadium because of the local 9pm Covid-induced curfew, said in a courtside interview.
"It's a privilege and a great sensation for me. Today it was working good for me, I felt like my tactics were working even if I missed some of my drop shots."
Tsitsipas moved 4-0 ahead in a near-perfect start with Carreno Busta looking unable to find his range.
The second set went through in the blink of an eye but Carreno Busta, who reached the last eight at Roland Garros last year, mixed up his game to move 4-1 up in the third as Tsitsipas failed to convert his breaking opportunities.
The Greek, however, just had to move up a gear to turn it around, and he wrapped up the win with a crosscourt forehand winner.
Second seed Daniil Medvedev's new love affair with clay continued to blossom with the Russian marching into the quarter-finals with a commanding 6-2 6-1 7-5 win over Chilean 22nd seed Cristian Garin.
Medvedev, who has reached two Grand Slam finals on hardcourts but had never won a match in four previous appearances on the red clay at Roland Garros, came into the clash against Garin having lost in their previous meeting on clay, at the Madrid Masters.
But Garin failed to put up much resistance as the rangy Russian peppered the sun-bathed Suzanne Lenglen court with winners, especially from his laser-precise backhand, breaking his opponent's serve twice in each of the first two sets.
Garin, whose five singles titles have all come on clay, needed medical attention for problems with his right arm and neck before the third set and returned to the court an improved player, breaking Medvedev for the first time in the match.
It was Medvedev's turn to call the trainer on court to check an arm issue while trailing 2-0 and he soon found his range again to win three games in a row to level the third set at 3-3.
The Russian then got another break in the 11th game and sealed the match with a backhand winner down the line - his 46th of the match - to set up a mouth-watering clash against Greek fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, who thrashed 12th-seeded Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain 6-3 6-2 7-5.
