Dan Evans' hopes of reaching a maiden Masters 1000 final were ended on Saturday night when he was beaten in three sets by Pablo Carreno Busta at the National Bank Open.
The Briton's previous best result at the tournament was the second round in 2019 but the world No 39 stormed to the semi-finals with a series of impressive wins.
In a tight opening set, Carreno Busta earned the crucial break in the 11th game and held his own serve to win it 7-5.
The British No 2 shook off the disappointment of losing the first set to race into a 3-0 lead in the second set which he eventually won in a tiebreak after having to save a match point.
But 50 minutes after squandering that match point, Carreno Busta completed a 7-5, 6-7 (7), 6-2 victory when an exhausted-looking Evans double-faulted.
The victory takes the Spaniard through to his first ATP Masters final, where he will face Hubert Hurkacz, who also needed three sets to defeat Casper Ruud.
"It was fun for the crowd but for me it was tough," Carreno Busta said. "I had a match point in the second set but he served pretty good so I couldn't do anything. When you have a match point and have to play another set, it's always hard to do it.
"Mentally I think I was very good. Probably the beginning of the third set was the hardest part of the match. But after that I thought I had to be more aggressive, try to push a lot, try to go to the net, and it was good."
After a mixed 2022 season, Evans' run to the semi-finals means he will be seeded at the upcoming US Open.
The 32-year-old will next play Filip Krajinovic in the first round of the Western and Southern Open, the final warm-up tournament before Flushing Meadows.