ALEX Bogdanovic handed out a 7-5 6-0 drubbing to top seed Martin Lee in the second round.
Bogdanovic, who had lost in straight sets to Lee in the first round of this tournament last year, called his victory over a player ranked 951 places higher in the world rankings the best of his career.
The Middlesex youngster held the upper hand from the start, carving out three unconverted break points in the first set before Lee double-faulted on the fourth to hand him the set.
His composure and backhand passing shots were a joy to watch and left Lee, taking a break from the week-in week-out rigours of chasing the ranking points he needs for automatic entry to next year's Grand Slams, nonplussed.
"I didn't expect to get through - all I wanted was to go out and play my best and if he beat me 6-0 6-0 I'd walk away and learn from what I did wrong," said Bogdanovic, who was born in Yugoslavia but did not pick up a tennis racquet until he moved with his family to Britain at the age of eight.
"But this win has given me loads of confidence. I'll focus on the quarter-finals and now I wouldn't be surprised if I went on to win the tournament."
Bogdanovic, a member of the British intermediate squad based at Sutton and coached by Argentinian clay court expert Tito Vasquez, is beginning to live up to his billing as the next big thing in British men's tennis.
This year he won the Uruguay Bowl in Montevideo and reached the third round of the Australian Open juniors before becoming the first British player ever to reach the semis in the junior competition at Flushing Meadows.
Bogdanovic was rewarded with a spot in Britain's Davis Cup squad for the tie with Portugal as the team's designated hitter and said those experiences had helped to accelerate his development.
"Just to be next to them and hitting with them helps me such a lot. I keep the memories of what their attitude was like on court and I try to do the same," said Bogdanovic, who meets James Nelson in the last eight tomorrow.
Lee, the British number three, who has never gone beyond the quarter-finals in these Championships, was philosophical about his surprise defeat and insisted the manner of it would contribute to his major goal of cracking the world's top hundred.
"I learnt a very big thing today - something to do with my mind - which I would not have learnt if I'd won," Lee said.
"I tried my hardest on every point but he didn't give me a sniff. He started off well and just kept playing the same way through the whole match. He certainly surprised me how many winners he hit."
Third seed Barry Cowan struggled through to the last eight with a 6-3 6-3 win over Cambridge's James Layne despite feeling under the weather.
In the women's competition 18-year-old Anne Keothavong booked her quarter-final place with a 6-2 6-1 cruise against Alice Barnes.
She now meets Lucie Ahl, who also dropped just three games against Rebecca Rankin, tomorrow.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article