Andy Murray continued his progress at the ATP Challenger in Biella, Italy, with a 6-4 6-4 win over home player Gian Marco Moroni.
The Scot, 33, ruled out of the Australian Open after a positive Covid test, broke twice in the first set but needed two attempts to serve it out.
Murray then converted the third of 12 break points against the world 234 in the ninth game of the second set.
He will meet Blaz Rola of Slovenia in Friday's quarter-finals.
At 159 in the world, the 30-year-old Slovenian is ranked just 14 places below the three-time Grand Slam champion, who has not played competitively since October and managed just seven tour level matches in 2020.
Rola has met Murray once before, winning just two games in a second round match at Wimbledon in 2014.
Murray showed signs of promise with wins over Dan Evans and Cameron Norrie in December's Battle of the Brits event.
However, the former world number one was unable to find a "workable quarantine" as he was ruled out of the year's first Grand Slam, though he was permitted to play in the second tier event in Italy after a quarantine waiver was agreed for players travelling from outside the European Union.
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