Second seed Nikolay Davydenko remained on course for his fifth ATP Tour title of the season with a straight-sets win over Argentinian Juan Monaco at the Valencia Open.

The 28-year-old Russian took one hour and 42 minutes to see off the world number 30, coming through 6-3 7-5.

It was not all plain sailing for the world number seven, though, who committed four double-faults in the second set. He now takes on Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in the quarter-finals.

In the first match of the day on the Agora court, Russia's Mikhail Youzhny overcame Uruguayan Pablo Cuevas in three sets.

The 27-year-old world number 23 won a topsy-turvy match 6-2 2-6 6-1 in one hour and 34 minutes in the pair's first ATP Tour encounter.

Youzhny will now take on Frenchman Gilles Simon, seeded fifth, in the last eight.