It was the first time the pair had faced off since the final of the 2016 Miami Open and Azarenka, who won back-to-back titles in Doha in 2012 and 2013, struck first, eventually claiming the opening set in 44 minutes.
She needed six match points to see off Kuznetsova in the second set to tee up a last-16 meeting with either Laura Siegemund or Elena Rybakina.
There was also a win for former world number one Garbine Muguruza, who defeated Veronika Kudermetova 6-2 7-6 (7-4).
"Veronika was a very tough opponent," Muguruza told a media conference. "[I'm] just happy with this win. We played a year ago, and I remember it was a tough match. I'm happy to have closed it in two sets."
Fifth seed Kiki Bertens, meanwhile, was dumped out by a rampant Jelena Ostapenko in straight sets.
The 2017 French Open champion hit 26 winners on her way to an emphatic 6-0 6-2 win against her Dutch opponent, who was playing her first match in five months following Achilles surgery.
Anett Kontaveit overcame number seven seed beaten Australian Open finalist Jennifer Brady 6-1 6-2 to set up a second-round clash with Angelique Kerber, who beat Cagla Buyukakcay 6-4 6-2.
In the day's other match, Maria Sakkari beat Mayar Sherif 6-0 6-3.
Meanwhile, teenage qualifier Clara Tauson shocked number one seed Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-3 6-4 in the first round of the Lyon Open.
There were also wins for Arantxa Rus, Nina Stojanovic, Timea Babos, Greet Minnen and Fiona Ferro in France.
Bautista Agut, who is the fifth seed in a draw featuring Dominic Thiem, Roger Federer and Andrey Rublev, was the highest ranked player in action in the round of 32 and fell behind to world number 39 Opelka.
Yet, the Spaniard pulled out his familiar battling qualities to prevailed over the big-serving American, who held sway 22-6 in the aces count.
Nevertheless, Bautista Agut was still able to fashion 11 break points over the course of the contest, converting one apiece decisively in sets two and three.
Alexander Bublik took the notion of big serves not being a decisive factor to an extreme as he popped in an underarm to fine effect on match point – qualifier Ramkumar Ramanathan scampering to thump his return out and conclude a 6-4 6-2 loss against Bautista Agut's next opponent.
The match between world number 42 Nikoloz Basilashvili and 41John Millman was as close as the rankings suggested, with the Georgian coming back to win 2-6 6-4 6-2.
Richard Gasquet and Taylor Fritz were straight-sets winners, with Rublev up next for Gasquet.
At this week's other ATP 250 event, the Open 13 Provence in Marseille, eighth seed Yoshihito Nishioka bowed out when he retired 2-6 2-4 down to Emil Ruusuvuori.
Wildcard Hugo Gaston beat Dennis Novak 3-6 6-4 6-1 to claim a notable scalp.
Top seed Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Karen Khachanov and Ugo Humbert will enter the fray in the last 16.
Basilashvili beat Bautista Agut in the championship match in Doha last year, but the Spaniard came out on top on this occasion, winning 6-3 6-4.
The experienced second seed had not won a tournament since he was crowned Qatar Open champion in 2019, before repeating that feat with a straight-sets success.
Bautista Agut came from a break down in both sets to win the 10th ATP title of his career at the expense of the third seed from Georgia.
The 33-year-old world number 16 dropped only one set this week en route to getting his hands on another trophy.
He said: "It was a really tough final. This year we played without wind, which was much better for me.
"It was not easy to recover after a really tough battle yesterday [in a semi-final win over Karen Khachanov], but I think I did a good job today.
"It is my 10th ATP Tour title and I am very happy."
Chardy saved six set points before being taken do a decider by Barrere, who passed up six chances to break his opponent and succumbed to a 6-3 3-6 6-3 defeat.
Seventh seed Adrian Mannarino exited after a 6-3 6-4 loss to Alexander Bublik, while Filip Krajinovic – seeded sixth – came from a set down to beat Kyle Edmund 4-6 6-3 6-3.
There were also wins for Fernando Verdasco, Aljaz Bedene, Corentin Moutet and Miomir Kecmanovic.
After just over an hour and a half, fifth seed Evans sealed a 6-4 6-4 victory over Egor Gerasimov in their first meeting on the ATP Tour.
Evans won 85 per cent of points behind his first serve and did not face a single break point as he advanced to the second round. Malek Jaziri or Alejandro Davidovich Fokina will be his next opponent.
Following a tight opening set, Khachanov overcame Mackenzie McDonald 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 to continue his impressive form early in the 2022 season.
Alex Molcan came from a set down and navigated a second-set tie-break to defeat Chris O'Connell and earn a meeting with Shapovalov in the second round.
At the Open 13 in Marseille, home hope Richard Gasquet overcame Mikael Ymer 6-4 7-5 to book a meeting with Andrey Rublev in the second round. There were also wins for Stefano Travaglia and Ilya Ivashka.
Federer has not played competitively since his semi-final exit at the 2020 Australian Open – the 20-time grand slam champion having undergone knee surgery last year.
But the 39-year-old Swiss great will make his long-awaited comeback against Evans in Doha on Wednesday.
Evans – who has been practicing with Federer – outlasted Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-4 1-6 6-2 in the round of 32 at the ATP 250 tournament.
"We obviously practised for [the] past two weeks [in Dubai], and I thought he was playing pretty well," Evans said. "We played plenty of sets. It was competitive. But it's all very different when you get on the match court.
"It will be a lot different tomorrow. It's going to be at night, as well, so a little slower. So we'll see how the match goes."
Second seed Federer – a record three-time Qatar Open champion – watched from the stands on Tuesday and Evans added: "He obviously has seen a lot of my game the past few weeks, so I guess I would say it was more out of boredom.
"He's probably [was] waiting for his practice [more] than scouting out what's happening on the court. Let's put it down to that."
Elsewhere, sixth seed David Goffin topped Filip Krajinovic 6-4 6-4 en route to the last 16 but three-time slam champion Stan Wawrinka was stunned 7-6 (7-3) 6-7 (6-8) 7-5 by qualifier Lloyd Harris.
Marton Fucsovics, Vasek Pospisil and Malek Jaziri also advanced through to the next round.
At the Open 13 Province, three-time champion and French veteran Jo-Wilfried Tsonga celebrated his first ATP Tour victory since 2019.
Tsonga – hampered by injuries, including left knee surgery –rallied from the brink to see off Feliciano Lopez 3-6 6-4 7-5 in Marseille on Tuesday.
"This is probably one of the best victories of my career, because it was tough for me to play tennis. I had so much pain for so many months," Tsonga said in an on-court interview. "Today, I won one match. That was one of my goals for these few weeks… I’m happy like a kid."
Next up is fourth-seeded countryman Ugo Humbert, who upstaged sixth seed Kei Nishikori 6-1 6-4.
Meanwhile, Federico Coria and Federico Delbonis were among the victors at the Chile Open.
Federer has not played competitively since his semi-final exit at the 2020 Australian Open – the 20-time grand slam champion having undergone knee surgery last year.
The 39-year-old Swiss superstar opted not to travel to Melbourne for this year's Australian Open, but he is set to make his comeback in Doha next week.
Before departing for Qatar, Federer said on Friday: "It's been a year since my last travel to any event and I'm very excited.
"This is the moment where I could maybe thank all the people involved who made this possible.
"It's been a long and hard road. I know I'm not at the finish line yet, but it's good."
Federer holds the record for most Qatar Open titles with three, with his most recent success at the ATP 250 event coming in 2011.
The 103-time tour-level champion added: "I feel like I'm in a good place, I've been practising very well.
"Hope you guys also are going to tune in to watch it and I hope I see you again very soon. Take care everybody."
Federer and Spanish great Rafael Nadal have both won a record 20 major titles.
Veteran Federer is on the comeback trail and planning to play tournaments in Doha and Dubai in March, building up to Wimbledon and the Tokyo Olympics, key goals for what might prove to be his final season on tour.
Former Wimbledon champion Michael Stich believes winning a ninth SW19 crown would be the perfect moment for Federer to bow out.
Stich told Stats Perform News recently: "It is clear that at some point he will stop. Many would have thought that already five years ago.
"We have no influence on that. I would wish for him to win Wimbledon and say after the final: 'You know what, I had a sick time, I'll stop.'
"There couldn't be anything better and that would give so much to the sport."
After 14 months out following knee surgery, Federer was back in action at the Qatar Open on Wednesday, defeating friend and practice partner Dan Evans in three sets in the last 16.
But Nikoloz Basilashvili, Federer's next opponent, proved a step too far in the quarter-finals on Thursday as the 39-year-old Swiss superstar went down 3-6 6-1 7-5.
Federer breezed through the opener and recovered from a tough second set to forge a match point in the decider, but Basilashvili stuck with his "idol" and earned a first career win against the 20-time grand slam champion.
The result would not put a dampener on Federer's week, however.
"I'm already over it," Federer said. "I mean I would have loved to play tomorrow - don't get me wrong, you know - but at the same time I'm also happy to get a rest.
"I'm happy how I played today. I'm happy how I did yesterday. I'm happy I was back on the Tour. I'm pleased I came here to Doha.
"So it's a really, really positive return for me.
"I'm actually happy that I was able to play back-to-back three-set matches against top players. That's an important step forward for me. This is a stepping stone."
But Federer announced later on Thursday he had made the decision to return to training, putting on hold plans for a second tournament of the season.
He had been set to join a number of other big names in Dubai, although Spanish great Rafael Nadal has rejected a wildcard.
Federer wrote on his social media pages: "It's been great to be back on the @atptour, loved every minute playing in Doha once again. A big thank you to the best and loyal team that helped me get here.
"I've decided it's best to go back to training and as a result, I've decided to withdraw from Dubai next week."
Federer is an eight-time Dubai champion, most recently in 2019 when he defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final.
Roger Federer's return to the ATP Tour lasted just two matches at the Qatar Open as he was beaten in the last eight by the brilliant Nikoloz Basilashvili.
The 39-year-old was playing his first competitive match in 14 months, having undergone knee surgery since his last appearance at the 2020 Australian Open.
Evans and Federer have practiced together over recent weeks and combined to produce a high-quality affair in Doha, with the veteran showing phenomenal staying power after so long away to book a quarter-final meeting with Nikoloz Basilashvili.
The only break point of the opening set came in the ninth game, with Federer holding and coming through two deuces.
World number 28 Evans boomed down a pair of aces and held to love after that minor setback and reeled off four consecutive points to lead 4-2 in the breaker.
Federer saved one set point and converted his third with a wonderful backhand passing shot.
A battle that eventually lasted two hours and 26 minutes appeared unlikely as Federer sought to press home his superiority, Evans coming into the net to repel a break point in the opening game of set two.
But the Briton was the first man to make a dent on the other's serve, with Federer unusually ragged as he pulled a forehand then a backhand wide from deuce to go 1-3 behind.
The Swiss could not capitalise on a break-back point in the next game and, having been taken to deuce in all previous games in the set, Evans produced back-to-back aces and held to love to square the match.
Federer's first-serve percentage fell from an imperious 83 to 58 between sets one and two and he looked tired when slipping to 0-30 at 2-2 in the decider before recovering to hold.
Evans, who also went the distance against Jeremy Chardy on Sunday, was similarly robust under pressure – a serve-volley and his formidable backhand slice seeing him through a match-point game at 4-5 – but he could not keep the insatiable Federer at bay as a majestic backhand down the line settled the argument.
Federer has not played competitively since his semi-final exit at the 2020 Australian Open – the 20-time grand slam champion having undergone knee surgery last year.
The 39-year-old Swiss superstar opted not to travel to Melbourne for this year's Australian Open, but he is set to make his comeback in Doha.
Federer, who holds the record for most Qatar Open titles with three – will start his campaign against either Jeremy Chardy or Daniel Evans at the ATP 250 tournament.
"It's been a long year in some ways, especially rehabbing, being on crutches once and then for a second time, and finally I'm back on a tennis court again, working out, playing sets, playing points," Federer said.
"It's a true pleasure, it's a privilege actually after all this time. I didn't expect it to go as long as it did, we are where we are, I'm so excited to be back on a match court, you know, in a few days here.
"I'm really curious to find out how it's going to go, obviously there's an amazing amount of questions marks surrounding my comeback for me personally.
"I don't know what to expect, I know that expectations from myself are extremely low, and I'm just very happy that I'm playing a tournament again, regardless of the outcome of this event."
On whether he had doubts over returning, Federer added: "You always do have doubts, you know, when you have surgery, there are always days when you feel better and worse. But I think overall I am a very positive person, I have a great team around myself, my family, I am also very distracted, and you know, the idea was to be fully fit again, one day. For life or for tennis.
"So equally important to me, actually life is a little bit more important to me, I wanna go skiing and play basketball, I wanna go playing ice hockey, play tennis in the future, with my children or exhibition matches, you name it, so it's definitely worth it to go through all that pain you know. But the goal was, this is not I'm going to go out, I'm not happy with my knee, we're going to fix it, and then I'm going to come back.
"For me there was no other story to it, and rehab wasn't as hard as maybe people make it seem, even though people around me are very impressed how I go about it, but for me it's only but normal to be really, really professional about it."
Having defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the second round, Kecmanovic – who enjoyed a run to the semis at the Next Gen ATP Finals last year – cruised past Marton Fucsovics in 56 minutes on Thursday.
Kecmanovic's 6-2 6-0 triumph puts him into the last four, though he will not find out his fellow semi-finalists until Friday after the rain arrived.
Kecmanovic will face either Andrey Rublev or Pierre-Hugues Herbert, while Corentin Moutet faces Fernando Verdasco and Stan Wawrinka goes up against Aljaz Bedene.
Herbert and Rublev were locked at 1-1 in the opening set when rain stopped play.
In-form Medvedev scored a 6-4 6-4 victory on Saturday as he followed up last Sunday's title in Rotterdam with another trophy success.
Three-time grand slam winner Murray, set to jump 18 places to 52nd in the new rankings, had saved eight match points en route to the Doha final.
He pushed Medvedev hard but could not get the better of a player who will nudge up one spot to seventh in the rankings on Monday.
Murray came back from 0-40 in the opening game to force deuce, but he could not hold serve, and Medvedev soon broke again to lead 4-1.
But back came Murray, and the Briton had a break point to square up the opener at 4-4, only for Medvedev to cling on.
The second set also began with Murray dropping serve, but the 35-year-old levelled up at 3-3 with a backhand winner at the end of a terrific rally.
That raised his hopes of a full-scale fightback and a third title success at this event, plus a first tournament victory since 2019 in Antwerp, but Murray was broken from 40-0 in the ninth game, and that looked to end his hopes.
Murray saved a ninth match point of the week, albeit thanks to a double fault from his opponent, but the Scot could not do so for a 10th time, with a lob from Medvedev giving him a big win and the 17th tour-level title of his career.
Medvedev, the 2021 US Open champion, told Amazon Prime Video in a courtside interview: "It was a very tough match. I'm happy to win, today was a big fight.
"Both of us sometimes were playing bad, then suddenly both of us were playing amazing, and I'm happy to win.
"It was tough for Andy to put the ball through me many times. Now it has to continue, so I'm going to try for as long as I can."
Before Ebden retired he made Medvedev work hard in taking the first set, with the Russian forced into saving three break points along the way.
Medvedev then broke the Australian to go 5-4 up and he looked in control from there, taking the set 6-4 and then winning the first three games of the second set prior to Ebden deciding he could go on no longer, with his opponent also 40-15 up.
Ebden had left the court for a medical timeout towards the end of the first set but never looked completely comfortable thereafter, and Medvedev saluted his opponent's efforts before turning his attentions to Sunday's final against Pierre-Hugues Herbert, grateful there will not be a home crowd to cheer on the Frenchman.
"Before this [injury] it was a close match," Medvedev said. "He was getting close to breaking me at 0-40 [in the first set], so really unfortunate to end the match like this. I knew that even with an injury I had to just continue playing, trying to win.
"You cannot give easy points just because he's injured. So, I'm really sorry for him, hopefully he can recover fast and it's nothing serious. He's a tough opponent to play, he does serve and volley, he plays [with] no rhythm, so that's why it's tough to say if I played well or not.
"But I'm looking forward for tomorrow [the final]. Luckily this time no crowd, because a final against a French guy in Marseille with a crowd would be not an easy challenge."
Herbert was in devastating form against his compatriot Ugo Humbert, clinching his 6-3 6-2 win in a little over an hour without facing a single break point.
That continued his impressive form in this tournament, having previously eliminated Stefanos Tsitsipas and Kei Nishikori, and he will be hoping to win his first singles title in Sunday's finale.
At the Qatar Open in Doha, Georgia's Nikoloz Basilashvili sealed his fourth ATP Tour title by beating Roberto Bautista Agut 7-6 (7-5) 6-2.
Basilashvili's performances in Doha have exceeded expectations given he went into the tournament with just two wins in his previous 16 matches – he now adds a trophy to his stunning quarter-final scalp of Roger Federer.
Victory also ended a title drought stretching back to July 2019 when he was triumphant in Hamburg, while he has now won his last four finals having lost the previous two.
Top seed Rublev, who won this tournament in 2020, responded to a first-set setback to rally to a 1-6 6-1 7-6 (8-6) win over Tallon Griekspoor on Wednesday.
The world number five was staring at a fourth opening-round defeat in five appearances this year but saved three match points en route to fighting back from 5-2 down in the decider.
Murray and fourth seed Alexander Zverev played out another three-set thriller in the Middle East, with the former world number one triumphing 7-6 (7-5) 2-6 7-5.
That clash lasted three hours and three minutes in another marathon match for Murray after defeating Italian Lorenzo Sonego in a final-set tie-break in the first round.
Medvedev (3) had no such difficulty in a comfortable 6-4 6-3 victory over world number 147 Liam Broady.
Second seed Felix Auger-Aliassime had to regain his composure during his debut in Doha, but ultimately prevailed 4-6 6-1 6-4 against Jason Kubler.
World number eight Auger-Aliassime had lost his only previous meeting with Kubler, and an upset was on the cards after the Canadian was broken in the third game and was unable to recover.
Yet he found his form with a blistering second set, reeling off five straight games to restore parity and keeping his cool in the decider.
That victory teed up a last-eight meeting with seventh seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who downed Kwon Soon-woo 6-3 6-2.
Jiri Lehecka will meet favourite Rublev after beating Emil Ruusuvuori 6-2 7-6 (7-2), while Botic Van De Zandschulp was shocked by world number 170 Alexandre Muller in a straight-sets defeat.
Elsewhere at the Open 13 Provence, fifth seed Maxime Cressy fell to a surprise second-round elimination after a 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 6-3 loss to home favourite Benjamin Bonzi.
There was no such luck for the other Frenchmen in Marseille as Alexander Bublik eased past Gregoire Barrere, while Stan Wawrinka beat Richard Gasquet 4-6 7-5 6-2 to reach the last eight.
The three-time grand slam winner was beaten in straight sets when he faced Daniel in the second round at the Australian Open last month.
But he avenged that defeat with a dominant display against the world number 110 that saw him prevail in one hour and 20 minutes.
Murray boasts an impressive record at the ATP 250 event, lifting the trophy in 2008 and 2009 while reaching a further two finals (2007 and 2017).
And the 34-year-old wildcard will face second seed Roberto Bautista Agut in round two.
"Taro played very well in Australia," Murray said. "He had a very good run there and was too good for me there.
"I tried to be the one dictating from the first point, and I thought I did that well. It was one of the better matches I've played in recent months.
"Obviously, the results from years ago aren't going to affect the results this week.
"But what it tells me is that the conditions here are good for my game, so if I can play to a good level, the courts are going to suit me here, and I'll make it difficult for everyone I play against."
Elsewhere, seventh seed Alexander Bublik hit 25 winners – including seven aces – in a 6-2 6-4 victory over Slovakia's Jozef Kovalik.
However, there was no joy for Lloyd Harris; the eighth seed was beaten in straight sets by Hungarian Marton Fucsovics for the second year running.
Over at Open 13 in Marseille, three-time winner Jo-Wilfried Tsonga overcame fellow wildcard Gilles Simon 6-2 6-4 in the battle of the players boasting five titles between them at the event.
But seventh seed Alexei Popyrin lost out in a deciding-set tie-break to world number 163 Roman Safiullin.
Making his first competitive appearance since his run to the third round of the Australian Open, Murray rallied after losing the first set to clinch a 4-6 6-1 7-6 (7-4) win in Monday's first-round contest.
The three-time grand slam winner – given a wildcard for the event in Doha – was the master of his own downfall in the opener as a double-fault handed Sonego the decisive break.
Having failed to force a single break point in the first set, Murray dominated the second but was facing an early exit when Sonego forced three match points in the decider, only for the momentum to swing again as the former world number one took it to a tie-break.
Sonego raced into a 3-0 lead, but Murray again came roaring back, squandering one match point when he flicked a backhand into the net but making no mistake second time around.
Murray will face fourth seed Alexander Zverev in the second round, as he bids to reach his first tour-level quarter-final of the season.
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina saw off Constant Lestienne 6-4 6-3, while Murray's fellow Brit Liam Broady saw off qualifier Oleksii Krutykh 6-0 4-6 7-6 (7-2).
Australian duo Jason Kubler and Christopher O'Connell also progressed in Doha.
Stan Wawrinka moved into the last 16 of the Open 13 with a 6-4 6-7 (6-8) 6-4 victory over Zizou Bergs.
Benjamin Bonzi and Alexander Bublik were the other first-round winners, ousting Luca Van Assche and Filip Krajinovic respectively in Marseille.
Former world number one Murray went down 6-0 6-1 to last year's runner-up Roberto Bautista Agut in Doha on Wednesday.
It was just the fourth occasion in which the three-time major champion has lost a match while winning only one game or fewer in his career – the last time being a defeat by the same scoreline to Roger Federer at the ATP Finals in 2014.
Murray's fellow Briton Dan Evans also endured a second-round loss, going down 4-6 7-5 6-4 to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina – Bautista Agut's next opponent.
Denis Shapovalov bounced back from his first-round loss to Jiri Lehecka in Rotterdam last week by dropping just eight points on serve as he claimed a 6-4 6-0 victory over Alex Molcan inside 52 minutes.
Next up for the Canadian will be Arthur Rinderknech after the Frenchman came from a set down to defeat seventh seed Alexander Bublik 6-7 (5-7) 6-1 6-4.
Nikoloz Basilashvili faced little trouble in overcoming Elias Ymer 6-4 7-5 and his reward is a quarter-final against Marton Fucsovics, who got the better of Kwon Soon-woo.
Karen Khachanov and Marin Cilic will meet in the last eight after they respectively eliminated Emil Ruusuvuori and Botic van de Zandschulp.
In Marseille, second seed Rublev was made to work hard for a place in the Open 13 quarter-finals by home hope Richard Gasquet.
Gasquet went a break up in the third set and, after surrendering his advantage, stopped Rublev serving out the match to force a tie-break.
However, the world number seven did not waste his next opportunity as he sealed a 4-6 6-4 7-6 (7-3) success.
Aslan Karatsev also booked his place in the last eight, while there were wins for Frenchmen Benjamin Bonzi and Lucas Pouille too.
Rain on Thursday in Doha complicated the schedule for the remaining players in the draw, but Rublev and Moutet were each able to win both their quarter-final and semi-final matches on the same day.
Rublev, one of the more promising young players on the ATP Tour, showed why he is so highly thought of, the second seed beating Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-4 6-3 before easing past Miomir Kecmanovic 6-3 6-1.
While Rublev's strong performance may have been anticipated, few could have expected Moutet's extraordinary run this week.
The 20-year-old had never previously reached a Tour level final but, after stunning Milos Raonic in the round of 16, he came through successive three-setters with Fernando Verdasco and Stan Wawrinka.
He overcame Verdasco 6-4 4-6 6-4, and his meeting with top seed Wawrinka was similarly frenetic.
Wawrinka had earlier overcome Aljaz Bedene 6-3 6-4 but, despite making a strong start to his semi-final, the three-time grand slam winner could not hold back Moutet.
The French youngster won the first three games of the third set, in which he did not face a break point as he closed out a 3-6 7-5 6-3 triumph.
Second seed Rublev, a Doha finalist in 2018, eased to a 6-4 6-2 victory in 69 minutes on Wednesday.
They key moment of the match came late in the first set when he immediately broke Kukushkin back after the Kazakh had battled back to level the opening set at 4-4.
"I'm really happy that I could win in straight sets," Rublev said. "It was first match of the season, first match since two months, and, of course, I was a little bit nervous."
World number 23 Rublev will meet Herbert next after the Frenchman impressively knocked out number five seed Laslo Djere 6-1 6-3.
Miomir Kecmanovic defeated third seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-6 (11-9) 6-1, ending the Frenchman's hopes of repeating his 2012 title success.
Serbian Kecmanovic will next play Marton Fucsovics after the qualifier's straightforward win over wildcard Cem Ilkel.
Fernando Verdasco's three-set triumph over Filip Krajinovic means he will play Corentin Moutet, who recorded a straight sets victory against former Wimbledon finalist Milos Raonic.
Number one seed Stan Wawrinka, a loser in the doubles with partner Frances Tiafoe, takes on Aljaz Bedene in the last eight on Thursday.
