British number one Cameron Norrie booked his spot in the quarter-finals of the Rotterdam Open with a closely-fought victory over Russia's Karen Khachanov in straight sets.
The Indian Wells Masters champion comfortably saw off Ugo Humbert to make it to the last 16 but was forced to battle hard for his 6-4 7-6 [7-5] victory over Khachanov on Wednesday in an empty arena.
Norrie found himself 3-0 down in the second set before managing to force a tie-break, with a smashing forehand winner settling the contest as he prepares for the final eight.
Speaking to Amazon Prime after the win, Norrie said: "Definitely wasn't easy - every time I play Karen we have battles so I knew what I was in for today.
"I think both of us donated our serves at times and both of us played great, so it was down to who could maintain that level and I managed to sneak through in that tie-break. I actually thought I returned really well today.
"With Karen you want to be the one dictating play so I wanted to use my forehand line a little bit more than usual today. I think the one being able to use their backhand more and being a bit more aggressive would have more success.
"Everyone can play well here at this tournament so it's going to get even tougher after my next match and hopefully someone can watch me play in my next match! No fans for the last two matches so hopefully I can show the Dutch crowd a bit of my game."
Norrie could meet compatriot Andy Murray in the quarter-finals should the three-time Grand Slam winner - who beat Alexander Bublik earlier on Wednesday - make it past Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Ben Knapton
