Towering second seed Joachim Johansson survived a tight three-setter against Belgium's Xavier Malisse to set up an all-Swedish quarter final against Thomas Enqvist in the Next Generation Hardcourts tennis tournament at Memorial Drive.

Johansson, the world No.11, was pressured throughout the match by the unseeded Belgian, but won 6-7(4-7) 6-3 7-6(7-2).

He closed out the deciding tiebreak with two aces, a turnaround from the first set tiebreak, when a double-fault at a crucial stage enabled Malisse to take the set.

"That was very nice," Johansson said.

"The double-fault at 4-4 (in the first set tiebreak) was really not what I was looking for, but I compensated in the third set tiebreak so that's good for me."

Johansson, a powerful 199cm player who had a breakthrough year in 2004, moving up 101 places from 113th in the rankings, improved throughout the match and looked to have Malisse's measure with his strong serve and blistering forehands in the final set.

But the hard-working Belgian baseliner made Johansson fight all the way, with the second game of the set, in which Malisse fought back from 0-40 down to hold his serve, typical of the contest.

"He played a way I didn't like tonight, he got a lot of balls back and didn't get me many free points," Johansson said.

Johansson's quarter final meeting with Enqvist will be the first head-to-head contest between the Swedish Davis Cup team-mates, who helped their country knock Australia out of the Cup in a first-round tie in February last year.

"We've been practicing together a fair bit but it's completely different when you play against each other," Johansson said.

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP