Alex de Minaur's quest for an Australian Open quarterfinals berth has been halted after he lost in straight sets to Italy's 11th seed Jannik Sinner.
De Minaur had only dropped one set on his way to the fourth round, but Sinner was in a class above the Australian's earlier opponents, winning 7-6 (7-3), 6-3, 6-4 in 2 hours and 35 minutes on Rod Laver Arena.
The appearance in the last 16 provided de Minaur with his best finish at an Australian Open.
The 22-year-old was the last Australian in the men's main draw.
"It's been a good start to the season, bringing in some good momentum," de Minaur told his media conference.
"I came up short today, but happy with where my level is going. It's definitely a big improvement from last year. I'm excited for what's to come."
Meanwhile, world number two Daniil Medvedev took four sets to beat unseeded American Maxime Cressy 2-6, 7-6 (9-7), 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) on Margaret Court Arena.
US Open champion Medvedev — who lost to Novak Djokovic in last year's men's final at Melbourne Park — plays Canada's ninth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarterfinals.
Auger-Aliassime joined countryman Denis Shapovalov in the last eight by defeating 2018 runner-up Marin Čilić 2-6 7-6(7) 6-2 7-6(4) on John Cain Arena.
De Minaur was not disgraced in his loss to Sinner, who is regarded as one of the best emerging talents in men's tennis.
Sinner is ranked 10 in the world at the age of 20 and made the French Open quarterfinals in 2020.
He will play Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarterfinals in Melbourne after the Greek fourth seed outlasted Taylor Fritz 4-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
De Minaur and Sinner did not begin their match until much later than expected, at 5:18pm AEDT, after the two earlier women's singles fixtures both stretched into third sets.
The temperature was still above 30 degrees Celsius when the men took to the court, with the match beginning at a cracking pace.
Several lengthy baseline rallies tested the fitness of both players, with Sinner often seeming to placing a shot out of de Minaur's reach, only for his opponent to get racquet to ball after scurrying along the baseline.
De Minaur will consider the first set a missed opportunity after he failed to convert on four break points.
When the set moved into a tiebreak, the 32nd seed found himself playing catch-up, with Sinner establishing a 6-2 lead.
De Minaur saved the first of four set points, but Sinner was able to close the deal.
Early in the second set, de Minaur found himself in a deeper hole when he coughed up a break.
The closest he could get to breaking back was forcing Sinner to deuce in the fifth game, only for the Italian to prevail.
A double break in the third set pushed Sinner closer to victory. He did drop serve to de Minaur in the sixth game, but it proved to be barely a bump in the road.
He won his next two service games to book his quarterfinal berth.
