For the third time in his career, Dan Evans has reached the quarter finals of an ATP tour event after dispatching South Africa’s Lloyd Harris for the loss of just two games at the Delray Beach Open.

Evans, who came through the qualifying event, made an immediate impact at the 250 ATP Tour event by eliminating Frances Tiafoe, the defending champion, in the first round 3-6 7-6(1) 7-5 before going on to make the last eight with his 6-0 6-2 win over Harris.

The 28-year-old has had a strong start to the season as he continues to work his way back towards the top 100 less than a year after returning from a one-year ban for cocaine use.

Evans, ranked 148 in world terms, meets Italy’s sixth seeded Andreas Seppi for a semi-final place, a player he has never met before but has a lot of respect for.

“He’s a great player,” Evans said. “I love the way he plays. It’s going to be good fun.”

Meanwhile his countryman Cameron Norrie, playing in Rio de Janeiro, was beaten in the second round, after three-hours and 19-minutes, by Spain’s Jaume Munar 7-6(6) 5-7 7-6(4) having recovered from 2-5 down in the decider.

In his opening match, Norrie had made light work of Dusan Lajovic, dispatching the Serbian 6-2 6-1.