Third seed Juan Carlos Ferrero booked his place in the Australian Open quarter-finals after the challenge of Andrei Pavel faded. Pavel briefly threatened an upset when he levelled the match at one set all but the Romanian could not maintain that form.
Ferrero strolled through the last two sets to complete a solid, if unconvincing, 6-4 3-6 6-3 6-3 win.
He awaits Mark Philippoussis or Hicham Arazi in the last eight.
Ferrero needed treatment on a leg injury twice during the match, but he denied it had affected his performance.
"I started to feel better and better during the match, I tried to fight a lot and win - I did it very well," said Ferrero.
"I was very focused and concentrated on my game and not on my injury."
MMIX
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