Gastao Elias produced the upset of the week so far by upending top seed Gael Monfils 7-6(4), 6-1 in the second round of the If Stockholm Open on Thursday. The 25-year-old Portuguese scored only his third tour-level hard-court win by saving all four break points faced. He will face Jack Sock in the quarter-finals.
“It was a good day,” said Elias, who leapt into the air dramatically after taking match point. “I told someone before the match that I would [celebrate like Cristiano Ronaldo after scoring a goal] if I won.
“It’s the best match I’ve ever played. I knew I could play at this level and compete with the top guys, and this is what I showed today. It’s difficult to play at this level every match, but this is what we practise for.”
The loss was a setback for Monfils, who is aiming to qualify for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals for the first time. He is currently No. 6 in the Emirates ATP Race To London.
Sock used his inside-out forehand to good effect in edging the acrobatic Dustin Brown 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-4.
"I've spent a lot of time on court in my first two rounds, but that's because everyone here is a good player," Sock said. "Dustin hit some crazy shots. At times it was frustrating but we had some fun out there."
How is it possible? Another great shot by @DreddyTennis against @JackSock @ATPWorldTour pic.twitter.com/XKqPvZQfeH
— If Stockholm Open (@IfSthlmOpen) October 20, 2016
Second seed Grigor Dimitrov, the 2013 champion (d. Ferrer), will take on Kevin Anderson in the quarter-finals after he beat Jurgen Zopp 6-3, 6-2 in 72 minutes.
"It was a good win for a first match,” said Dimitrov. “I have to play every day now, so I must stay focused. Kevin is an extremely good player, serves unbelievably well and as it’s indoors it will come down to a matter of a few points.”
Anderson overcame qualifier Ryan Harrison 7-6(8), 6-4, saving two set points at 5/6 and 7/8 in the first-set tie-break. Dimitrov has a 5-1 FedEx ATP Head2Head lead against Anderson.
Wild card Juan Martin del Potro improved to 3-0 lifetime against Nicolas Almagro with a 6-4, 6-3 victory in 79 minutes and will now meet second seed Ivo Karlovic.