Roberto Bautista Agut overcame a wobble to book his place in the last eight of the ATP Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
The third seed had won the first set against Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert, but dropped the second set on a tie-break.
But the Spaniard, who was runner-up at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in December in Abu Dhabi, charged through the final set to clinch a 6-4, 6-7, 6-1 success.
He will meet Borna Coric in the quarter-finals on Thursday.
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Coric keeps his charge going
Borna Coric has gone well in Dubai in the past, reaching the semi-finals most famously in 2015 when he defeated Andy Murray on his route to the last four.
The world No 50 is now one match away from repeating that feat after he defeated Benoit Paire 6-1, 6-4 in their second-round encounter.
The Croatian had shocked No 5 seed Richard Gasquet in the opening round.