The New Zealand No 1 is trying to play a "bigger" game this year, but came up against a player who hit even bigger. Hampton timed the ball sweetly in the first set, which took only 27 minutes. In contrast, Erakovic looked sluggish and off-colour.
She had her chances in the second set, breaking Hampton twice and serving for the set, but was taken to a tiebreaker which Hampton won 7-5.
It was at least an improvement for Erakovic, who was a first-round casualty in the three previous years, but she would have sensed a chance to do well given her part of the draw had opened up following the early exit of defending champion and fourth seed Zheng Jie.
Hampton will now take on Dutchwoman Kiki Bertens in tomorrow's quarter-final.
"I had a lot of chances in that second set so it definitely hurts," Erakovic said, "but Jamie played some great points and deserved to win."
