It is set to be an action packed Saturday in Marrakech, after rain forced organisers at the Grand Prix Hassan II to cancel all matches on Friday.
All four singles quarter-final matches and both doubles semi-finals will now be played on Saturday, with winners returning later in the day to compete in the last four of the singles and the doubles championship match. The quarter-final draw is headlined by Kyle Edmund, who will meet Tunisia's Malek Jaziri on Court Central at 11am.
Edmund reached his third quarter-final of 2018 in Marrakech on Thursday, after a 6-2, 6-4 win over Radu Albot. The Australian Open semi-finalist needed just 74 minutes to secure his ninth win of the season, winning 83 per cent of points behind his first serve. "Playing Radu today, he puts a lot of balls in court, so I knew I had to beat him, instead of him giving me the match," said Edmund. "It gives me another opportunity the day after to play again and that is the main thing."
Jaziri defeated eighth seed Mischa Zverev 6-2, 6-4. The wild card saved all eight break points he faced on serve, and broke the German on three occasions, to book a second career meeting with the World No. 26. Jaziri leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 1-0.
Nikoloz Basilashvili also booked his spot in the last eight in Marrakech, overcoming home favourite Lamine Ouahab 7-6(5), 5-7, 6-3. The Georgian took two hours and 31 minutes to overcome the wild card, who stunned third seed Philipp Kohlschreiber in his opening match on Wednesday. Basilashvili will face Portugal’s Joao Sousa in the quarter-finals.
Sousa continued his recent run of form to beat Mirza Basic 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 in the first match on Court Central. The 29-year-old, who reached the Round of 16 at the Miami Open presented by Itaú last month (l. to Chung), won 78 per cent of points on his first delivery to beat the Diema Xtra Sofia Open champion after just over two hours of play.
Did You Know?
In six tournament editions between 2009 and 2014, the Grand Prix Hassan II was won on five occasions by a Spaniard. Juan Carlos Ferrero (2009), Pablo Andujar (2011- ’12), Tommy Robredo (2013) and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez all tasted success, with Stan Wawrinka the only exception in 2010.