Spain’s No. 13 seed Daniel Caverzaschi picked a fine time to claim his first win in eight attempts against Joachim Gerard, stunning the reigning Australian Open and Wimbledon champion 6-3 6-4 to book his berth in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics men’s singles quarter-finals.

“A good place to do it!” Caverzaschi said with a grin. “I’ve been feeling well this week, and I’ve been doing a good year in general. I’ve been working my ass off, to be honest, and at some point I knew it would come that I’d be able to apply it.”

The 28-year-old admitted to feeling the tension as he let a point for 5-2 slip by in the second set before Gerard hit back to reach 4-4, at which point he told himself: it’s now or never. With the hard work done and the conditions to his liking, he closed out a momentous victory in straight sets.

“I think the court suits me, the ball is very bouncy and I’ve got a lot of room to move around, from side to side like a rabbit,” he added.

“And I managed to not let Joachim get in the match – he’s obviously very dangerous, a great hitter, and he destroys you if he’s inside the court. I managed to do that. I know Joachim didn’t play his best match, but I had to be there and seize my chances.”

Caverzaschi will face Dutch seed Tom Egberink for a spot in the semis after the No. 8 seed battled back to beat Sweden’s Stefan Olsson in a three-set thriller on Centre Court at Ariake Tennis Park.

The Dutchman, who played through the pain barrier in Rio 2016 with a broken thumb, was in fine form as he worked his way back from a scintillating first set from the Swede, whose Paralympic career ends following the 1-6 7-6(4) 6-3 defeat.

“Olsson played really well - he felt able to attack me from everywhere, so full credit to him for that first set. I spoke with him after and he said he was on fire.” said Egberink, who found himself two points from defeat at 5-6 0-30 on serve in the second.

“I needed my big serve, and it came twice, I was really lucky with that, and the tiebreak went well. After that, I went to the changing rooms, reset my mind and told myself, ‘All in for this final set’. I was really solid at the end, and I think I played a solid second and third set.”

Earlier in the day, top seed Shingo Kunieda eased past China, P.R.’s Ji Zhenxu 6-0 6-2 to tee up a clash with Stephane Houdet, the French flagbearer and No. 6 seed beating Martin De La Puente 6-3 6-0 after trailing 3-0 in the opening set.

“Martin was very, very powerful – it’s a long time since I’ve played against him so it was tough to read at the beginning,” said the 50-year-old, who quickly turned his attention to facing the Japanese three-time Paralympic champion.

“Having Shingo here in his country, he is like an emperor of the Games,” Houdet said. “It’s a huge pleasure to play him. I have a huge souvenir of playing him on this court in the final of the World Team Cup – I defeated Shingo in two sets and France, we won. I can still see it in my mind.”

No. 2 seed Alfie Hewett survived a scare from Dutchman Ruben Spaargaren, who earned a third set before being dispatched 6-1 2-6 6-3. The Rio 2016 silver-medallist will face Nicolas Peifer, who posted a 6-2 6-3 victory over Takuya Miki, while compatriot Gordon Reid beat Japan’s Takashi Sanada 6-2 6-1 to set up a quarter-final clash with Argentina’s Gustavo Fernandez, a 6-2 6-1 victor over Jef Vandorpe.

In the women’s singles, top seed Diede De Groot brushed aside the ongoing schedule delays owing to the persisting extreme heat in Tokyo to beat China, P.R.’s Huang Jinlian 6-0 6-2. Japan’s Momoko Ohtani stands between the Dutchwoman and a spot in the semi-finals after seeing off RPC’s Viktoriia Lvova 7-5 6-1.

Aniek van Koot faced no such delays on Monday, the No. 3 seed opening the action under the Centre Court roof with a 6-3 6-0 victory over Emmanuelle Morch of France, who had taken an early lead before the Dutchwoman responded.

Next up for van Koot is Chinese surprise package Wang Ziying, who stunned South African No. 6 seed Kgothatso Montjane 6-2 6-3. Normal service continued for No. 2 seed Yui Kamiji, the Paralympic torchbearer brushing aside Brazil’s Meirycoll Duval 6-0 6-0 to set up a clash with Chinese No. 7 seed Zhu Zhenzhen.

Dutch young guns Niels Vink and Sam Schroder’s dream Paralympic debut continues in the quad division, the Dutch doubles finalists booking their berths in the singles semi-finals. Vink was firing on all pistons in a 6-4 6-1 victory over No. 3 seed Andy Lapthorne, edging a tight opener before capitalising on an early break in the second set. He will face reigning champion Dylan Alcott for a place in the gold medal match after the top seed surged past USA’s Bryan Barten 6-0 6-1.

Schroder denied Australia’s Heath Davidson the opportunity to reach the semi-finals with a 6-2 6-1 win, before Japan’s Koji Sugeno upset eight-time Paralympic medallist David Wagner, the American No. 4 seed falling 6-4 6-2 to miss out on the podium for the first time at a Paralympic Games.