Novak Djokovic impressed as he beat Tallon Griekspoor in straight sets to reach the Dubai Tennis Championships quarter-finals.

"It's been a great evening for me," said Djokovic.

The Serbian world number one will face Polish fifth seed Hubert Hurkacz on Thursday for a place in the semis.

Djokovic, 35, is chasing a sixth Dubai title and is playing his first tournament since winning the Australian Open with a hamstring injury last month.

Defending champion Andrey Rublev saved five match points and recovered from a set down to advance.

The second seed beat Spaniard Alejandro Davdovich Fokina 1-6 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-3) and will now face Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands in the last eight on Thursday.

His hard fought win was in marked contrast to Djokovic, who recovered from a shaky first-round display to put in a ruthless display against Griekspoor.

"Yesterday, I really had to work hard to get a win," said Djokovic.

"Tonight, right from the beginning I was sharp. I played better quality tennis.

"Maybe the last three or four games were not the best to close the match, but I managed to find the good serve in the end."

Former world number one Daniil Medvedev, who has recently won titles in Rotterdam and Doha, earned an 11th consecutive victory by beating Kazakhstan's Alexander Bublik 6-4 6-2 and faces Croatia's Borna Coric next.

Italy's world number 67 Lorenzo Sonego completes the quarter-final line-up, meeting Germany's Alexander Zverev in the last eight, after a 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 win over Canadian fourth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime.

In the WTA 250 event in Austin, British number six Heather Watson was beaten 6-4 6-4 by American fifth seed Sloane Stephens in the second round.