Pavlyuchenkova will face USA’s Madison Keys next, as 10th seed needed 3 sets to beat sixth seed Venus Williams 6-1, 6-7 (2), 6-3.
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Kerber had to overcome a slow start, but she eventually got the job done against Elina Svitolina in a 1-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 triumph, while Halep had no such issues in her straight-sets win over 14th seed Karolina Pliskova.
Williams recovered well initially against Keys, but she still went down to her fellow American 6-1 6-7 (2-7) 6-3.
Kerber looks to reach her fifth final appearance this season and won five of her last seven semifinals appearances overall.
Russian Daria Kasatkina upset seventh-seeded Roberta Vinci of Italy 7-5, 6-3 in another third round match at Uniprix Stadium.
Eugenie Bouchard also bowed out in the third round, as Kristina Kucova proved too good in their match that lasted over two hours, winning 3-6 6-4 6-3.
The fifth seed made light work of Pliskova on Thursday and the Romanian star says she is feeling the confidence flowing.
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova survived a second-set scare to upset fourth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska.
“It was very tough, I feel really exhausted now, she played very well and she’s very strong so I knew it was going to be like this”, Halep said.
“I’m happy that I won today”.
The ninth-seeded Kuznetsova’s frustration was evident on centre court when, after dominating the opening set, Halep turned the tables in the second.
Angelique Kerber, the second seed from Germany, bounced back to beat Elina Svitlolina of Ukraine 1-6, 7-6 (2), 6-4 to advance to a quarter-final meeting with 19-year-old Russian Daria Kasatkina, a 7-5, 6-3 victor over Italian Roberta Vinci.
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“I played some high-quality tennis this week – I can’t forget those two matches – but two matches is not a whole tournament”, the dejected 22-year-old said. She lost in the first round five times and won one match this time, but in 2014 she reached the final, losing to Radwanska.
