World No 2 Iga Swiatek cruised through the last eight with a 7-5 6-0 win over Ukranian Dayana Yastremska while Italian fourth seed Jasmine Paolini's Dubai title defence ended with a 6-4 6-0 loss to American wildcard Sofia Kenin.
World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka blamed a lack of focus and motivation for her last-16 defeat at the Dubai Championships, where she fell 6-3 6-2 to World No 38 Clara Tauson.
Three-time grand slam champion Sabalenka started her season with a title in Brisbane but has struggled for form after failing to win a third consecutive Australian Open last month.
The World No 1 fell to a straight sets defeat to Clara Tauson to continue a difficult period on court.
Sabalenka, who won the Qatar Open in 2020, suffered a second-round defeat to Ekaterina Alexandrova in Doha last week.
