Top seed Andy Roddick crashed out of the Paris Masters to Max Mirnyi. "Max played well. He always serves good and didn't miss many volleys," said the American after his 7-6 (7-2) 6-2 loss to the big-serving Belarussian.
The top half of the draw in Paris is now bereft of seeds after Tim Henman's defeat to Mikhail Youzhny.
Lleyton Hewitt and Marat Safin, who beat Jurgen Melzer, are the only top 10 players left in the tournament and are due to meet in the quarter-finals.
Hewitt had looked typically fired up in the early stages of what promised to be a close battle against Nicolas Massu before the Chilean stopped when trailing 4-3.
"I would have preferred to have more match time," said Hewitt, who next plays Safin.
"But I know that in the next round I will have to pick it up a notch."
Earlier, Guillermo Canas saw off Tommy Haas to reach the quarters.
The Argentine edged a tight first set in the tie-break and then swept past the German for a 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 victory.
Canas takes on Feliciano Lopez in the last eight, while Radek Stepanek will meet Russia's Mikhail Youzhny. Czech qualifier Stepanek beat Vince Spadea 6-2 6-3 in the third round.
MMIX
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