Novak Djokovic felt he had produced "a great performance" to cruise past Andrey Rublev and reach the last four at the ATP Finals in Turin.
A 6-3 6-2 triumph for Djokovic in just 68 minutes on Wednesday moved him into the semi-finals with a match to spare.
Djokovic will face alternate Cameron Norrie on Friday already knowing he will finish top of the Green Group after straight-sets wins over Casper Ruud and Rublev this week.
The Serbian dropped serve in the first game of the match against world number five Rublev but had few problems from then on.
Victory took Djokovic to 50 wins on the ATP Tour this season. He has been beaten just six times in 2021 and is now two victories away from a record-equalling sixth ATP Finals success.
The 34-year-old has won 12 of his 13 matches since the start of the US Open, losing only to Daniil Medvedev – his main rival for glory again here – in the final of that competition.
"It was a great performance overall," said Djokovic, who won 27 of 31 points on his first serve and had 14 aces to zero double faults.
"I served well and that helped tremendously. I wanted to put him out of his comfort zone, taking away the time and mix up the pace.
"I knew that I had to be on my toes and start well.
"I dropped my serve again like in the first match against Ruud. It was quite a nervous start from both of us until 4-3, then with new balls I somehow managed to find the right shots at the right time.
"I made him play. Winning the first set I put additional pressure on him, and I started to maybe play more consistently from the back of the court."
Rather than 2019 winner Stefanos Tsitsipas, who has withdrawn with an elbow injury, Briton Norrie is up next for the world number one at the ATP Finals.
"I always like playing new players, particularly in one of the greatest tournaments in the world here in Turin," added Djokovic.
"Cameron deserves to be here, it is not lucky. He worked his way to Turin with great wins in Indian Wells and some other tournaments.
"So it will be fun to watch him play against Ruud and I will get ready for my next match."
Djokovic has now made the last four of the ATP Finals on 10 occasions, with this being his 40th career win in the tournament (16 defeats).
Dominant Gauff double bagels Rus at Madrid Open
Coco Gauff made a flying start to her Madrid Open campaign on Thursday, recording the first double bagel main-draw win of her career as she cruised past Arantxa Rus to reach the round of 32.
Gauff needed just 51 minutes to see off 33-year-old Rus as she booked a meeting with Ukraine's Dayana Yamstremska for Saturday.
The US Open champion lost just 18 points throughout the match – eight in the opener and 10 in the second set – as she put any doubts over her recent form to bed in emphatic fashion.
Gauff's power proved too much for Rus in the opener, the third seed winning 88 per cent of points behind her first serve and converting three of four break points to go a set up in just 23 minutes.
Rus brought up four break points midway through the second set, but when she failed to convert them, Gauff punished her in ruthless fashion by reeling off another three games then finishing things with a terrific forehand winner.
Speaking after her win, the American said: "I played really well today. It was just one of those days for me… 6-0 6-0, I've never done that before, I'll probably never do it again."
Data Debrief: Gauff matches Azarenka, Halep feat
Gauff is just the third player to register a 6-0 6-0 win in the women's singles draw at the Madrid Open, following in the footsteps of two former world number ones in Victoria Azarenka and Simona Halep.
The American, who only turned 20 last month, is also the youngest player to double bagel an opponent in any main-draw match on the WTA Tour since Iga Swiatek did so against Karolina Pliskova in the 2021 Italian Open final in Rome.
Nadal cruises past teen Blanch to tee up De Minaur rematch in Madrid
Darwin Blanch presented little challenge for Rafael Nadal, who dropped just one game in a convincing 6-1 6-0 triumph at the Madrid Open.
Nadal is feeling his way back to fitness, but 16-year-old qualifier Blanch offered little resistance to the 22-time major champion on Thursday.
Making his farewell appearance at the Madrid Open, where he has won five titles, Nadal needed just 64 minutes to progress to round two.
"I think today I played against an opponent with a great future in front [of him], but today, still making mistakes," said Nadal.
"I just tried to be there, be solid all the time without taking a lot of risks. It worked well. I'm happy to be through and I wish him all the very best for the future."
Nadal's reward is a rematch with Alex de Minaur, who he lost to last week in Barcelona.
Data Debrief
This game saw the largest age gap (21 years, 117 days) between two opponents in the history of ATP Masters 1000 events.
Nadal has now registered 57 wins at the Madrid Open, which is 20 clear of any other player.
Osaka eliminated by Samsonova in Madrid
Naomi Osaka was knocked out of the Madrid Open by Liudmila Samsonova after an entertaining second-round battle on Thursday.
Having won her first match on clay for two years against Greet Minnen a day earlier, Osaka was able to force a final set against 15th seed Samsonova but ultimately fell to defeat.
Samsonova won a close encounter 6-2 4-6 7-5 to book a clash with American Madison Keys – who defeated Irina-Camelia Begu in straight sets – in the next round.
Osaka had beaten Samsonova at Indian Wells last month and came close to securing another victory as she recovered well from losing the opening set.
But the Japanese star was broken to fall 5-6 behind in the final set, and the Russian made no mistake in ruthlessly closing out the victory.
Data Debrief: Samsonova ends losing streak
This was a crucial win for Samsonova, who came into the match having lost four consecutive contests, including that Indian Wells defeat to Osaka on March 9.
Samsonova did apply plenty of pressure in the final set – forcing five break points compared to just one for Osaka – and was ultimately rewarded in the closing stages of a contest that lasted two hours and 22 minutes.
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