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Pune - South Africa's world No 6 Kevin Anderson moved into the quarter-finals of the ATP Tour's Maharashtra Open after a hard-fought win over Laslo Djere on Wednesday.
Last year's runner-up Anderson, who got a first-round bye in the hard court event, edged past Serbia's Djere 7-6, 7-6 in the western Indian city of Pune.
Anderson, 32, served 20 aces against 23-year-old Djere, who is ranked 93rd in the world singles chart, and won both sets in tie-breaks.
"It is always tough playing somebody who has been here played a (first-round) match. That is always a bit tricky," Anderson said after the win.
"I thought it was a great match and really pleased to register my first win of the year... I still believe my best tennis is yet to come."
Defending champion Gilles Simon of France came back from a set down to beat Belarusian Ilya Ivashka 6-7, 6-2, 6-1 in over 2 hours and 30 minutes.
Simon -- ranked 30th in the world and seeded third - will next face fellow Frenchman Benoit Paire who earlier got past Jiri Vesely of Czech Republic 6-4, 6-2.
Former top 10 player Ernests Gulbis overcame second-seeded Hyeon Chung of South Korea 7-6, 6-2.
Seventh seed Jaume Munar of Spain and veteran Croatian Ivo Karlovic also booked their places in the last-eight.
Results of matches at the ATP Maharashtra Open in Pune, India on Wednesday (x denotes seed):
Second round
Ernests Gulbis (LAT) bt Hyeon Chung (KOR x2) 7-6 (7/2), 6-2
Ivo Karlovic (CRO) bt Evgeny Donskoy (RUS) 6-4, 7-5
Kevin Anderson (RSA x1) bt Laslo Djere (SRB) 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (8/6)
Benoit Paire (FRA x5) bt Jiri Vesely (CZE) 6-4, 6-2
Jaume Munar (ESP x7) bt Simone Bolelli (ITA) 7-5, 6-0
Gilles Simon (FRA x3) bt Ilya Ivashka (BLR) 6-7 (3/7), 6-2, 6-1
Steve Darcis (BEL) bt Michael Mmoh (USA) 4-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-2
