The opening set of the encounter saw both players' serve come under serious pressure, as 14 break points were contested.

Eventually the set would be decided in a tie-break, after the duo had successfully broken their rival on two occasions, with Ferrer ultimately holding his nerve to take the opener against the world number 88.

The second set followed in a similar vein as both players were broken twice, but Pouille prevailed in the tie-break to force a decider against the eighth seed.

With the momentum now with him, Pouille struck early in the third and was then able to see out a 6-7, 7-6, 7-5 win against the Spaniard, the former world number three and 2013 French Open finalist.

France’s Giles Simon also delivered a shock as the 18th seed defeated Croatia’s Marin Cilic, the 11th seed, by battling to a 6-3, 6-7, 6-3 win.

World number one Novak Djokovic continued his relentless march towards the final as the Serbian secured a 6-4, 6-1 victory Portugal’s Joao Sousa.

His compatriot Viktor Troicki suffered a comprehensive 6-1, 6-1 defeat to Belgium’s David Goffin, while the Czech Republic’s Tomas Berdych triumphed 6-3, 6-7, 6-3 against the United States’ Steve Johnson.

In the women’s draw, Australian Open winner Angelique Kerber recovered from losing the opening set 6-1 against Dutch qualifier Kiki Bertens.

The German hit-back to win the second 6-2 and then went 3-0 up in the decider before her opponent was forced to retire. 

Britain’s Johanna Konta continued her rise, with the Australian Open semi-finalist coming from a set down to beat Russia’s Elena Vesnina 4-6, 6-1, 7-6.

Indian Wells champion Victoria Azarenka of Belarus enjoyed a straightforward 6-3, 6-0 win over Poland’s Maga Linette.

Home favourite Madison Keys claimed a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Italy’s Roberta Vinci to move into the fourth round.