American Coco Vandeweghe has stormed back from the brink to defeat Canadian star Eugenie Bouchard in a gruelling three-set clash at the Australian Open.
Vandeweghe trailed 4-2 in the deciding set but powered home to claim a 6-4 3-6 7-5 victory over the 2014 semi-finalist in two hours and 22 minutes on Friday.
She will face either world No.1 Angelique Kerber or unseeded Czech Kristyna Pliskova in the round of 16.
It is the first time Vandeweghe, who eliminated Samantha Stosur in 2015, has advanced past the third round at Melbourne Park.
But the 25-year-old showed no signs of apprehension about a possible showdown with defending champion Kerber.
“It’s just another opponent in the way of my goal for this tournament,” she said.
“Any way I can get it done, I just want the result and to achieve my goal.
“Right now it’s just recovery … and then scout a little bit if I do end up having the time to watch some of the match. But I think the first thing is just to recover and be as prepared as possible.”
Vandeweghe made a patchy start to the deciding set, cursing herself and throwing her racket after a series of errors handed Bouchard a 4-2 lead.
But she brought the score level and showed plenty of spirit to save four break points during a 13-and-a-half minute ninth game which paved the way for her determined victory.
“I was able to turn it around, thankfully, by just saying ‘what’s the worst case, I’m going to lose?’,” she said.
“I was already down a break anyway so it really didn’t matter. Just to get back to my own gameplan and play on my terms again was kind of the key thing I was focusing on.”