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The 2nd seed Felix Auger-Aliassime is through to the quarter-final in Auckland, defeating James Duckworth 6-3, 7-6 in an hour and 37 minutes. Felix fired ten aces and dropped only ten points in 11 service games to keep the pressure on James all the time, converting one break chance in the opener and dominating in the second set tie break after fending off a set point in the previous game to seal the deal and reach the last eight.
The Canadian lost two points behind the initial shot in the opening set, stealing Duckworth's serve in game six following a forehand error from the Aussie to move in front after 20 minutes. Serving for the set at 5-3, Auger-Aliassime held at 15 after a service winner, wrapping up the set in 30 minutes and looking sharp on the court ahead of set number two.
There, James fended off a break chance in the seventh game with a service winner, creating a set point at 5-6 that he wasted after a terrible return, allowing Felix to take the tie break 7-0 and seal the deal without spending more time on the court.
The 3rd seed and Doha champion Andrey Rublev took down Sam Querrey 6-3, 6-3 in swift 54 minutes, beating the American for the second time in three matches. Dominating with the first serve, Andrey lost 13 points in nine service games, suffering one break and stealing Sam's serve four times to cruise into the quarters.
Settling into a right rhythm from the very first shot, Andrey earned a break in the third game, confirming it with a service winner in the next game and closing the set with another break in game nine for a 6-3. The Russian broke in the second game of the second set with a forehand winner, playing a loose service game a few minutes later to keep Querrey in contention before earning another break in game six that pushed him 4-2 up.
Serving for the match at 5-3, Andrey held at 15 to stay on the title course, facing Daniel Evans in the battle for the semis. Alex Bolt needed just 67 minutes to dismiss the 7th seed Jan-Lennard Struff 6-3, 6-4, advancing into the first ATP quarter-final at the age of 27.
Bolt gave away 15 points in ten service games, never facing a break point and earning one break in each set to seal the deal in straight sets and shine in front of the home fans. A qualifier Lloyd Harris toppled Laslo Djere 7-6, 6-3 in an hour and 47 minutes, firing 13 aces and giving the Serb only one break chance.
Laslo didn't play bad either, getting broken once in set number that was enough for the South African to move over the top and reach the last eight. The 4th seed Pablo Carreno Busta took down Jeremy Chardy 6-3, 6-2 in an hour and 15 minutes, sailing through his service games and delivering three breaks to control the scoreboard and finish the job in no time at all.
A qualifier Tommy Paul stormed over Pablo Cuevas, beating the struggling Uruguayan 6-1, 6-2 in 59 minutes, never losing serve and delivering four breaks to cross the finish line in no time at all for the first ATP quarter-final since Washington 2017.