David Ferrer in Rosmalen Grass Court Championships semis

Top seed David Ferrer moved a step closer to winning the Rosmalen Grass Court Championships for a third time by beating Dudi Sela in straight sets to reach the quarter-finals on Thursday.

The evergreen Spaniard, champion in 2008 and 2012, needed just less than an hour and a half to beat the unseeded Sela 6-4 6-4 on Centre Court.

World number 14 Ferrer saved 10 break points and grasped half of his break-point opportunities to set up a last-eight encounter with last year's beaten semi-finalist Gilles Muller.

Seventh seed Muller ensured there would be no all-Spanish quarter-final by ousting Guillermo Garcia-Lopez with a 7-5 6-1 victory.

Muller secured the solitary break in the first set and two in the second to march on, firing down 13 aces in the process and winning 79 per cent of points on his first serve.

Big-serving Croatian Ivo Karlovic racked up 20 aces in a 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-5) victory over Igor Sijsling and will now face Adrian Mannarino, who saw off Daniil Medvedev in straight sets.