Defending champion Dominic Thiem beat Cristian Garin 6-3 6-2 Thursday to set up a quarter-final against Andrey Rublev at the Erste Bank Open.

Austria’s home favourite, who is seeded second, lost only 10 points on his serve and wrapped up the win over the Chilean in just over an hour to tee up his clash with the in-form Russian Rublev.

“It was a real good match, very solid from start to finish,” U.S. Open champion Thiem said in his on-court interview.

The fifth-seeded Rublev, who is seeking his fifth tournament win of the season, led Jannik Sinner 2-1 in the opening set when the Italian youngster, the revelation of the ATP Tour since the return of action, had to retire with a foot injury.

“(Rublev) has entered the top 10 last week and the way he is playing, I would say he is among the five best players in the world right now,” said Thiem, who trains with the world No.8 regularly.

Another Russian, fourth-seeded Daniil Medvedev also advanced after rallying to defeat Canadian Vasek Pospisil 4-6 6-3 6-2.

Medvedev’s next opponent is Kevin Anderson, who won the event in 2018.

Lucky loser Lorenzo Sonego edged Hubert Hurkacz 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (7-2) to set up a quarterfinal against top-seeded Novak Djokovic.

The 42nd-ranked Sonego lost in qualification but replaced Diego Schwartzman in the main draw after the Argentine pulled out with an injury.

British No.1 Dan Evans came back from a break down in both sets to beat Austrian wild-card Jurij Rodionov 7-5, 6-3.

He will next take on third-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas or Grigor Dimitrov, who were concluding Thursday’s programme.