Two-time defending champion Victor Estrella Burgos continued his dominance in Quito on Thursday at the Ecuador Open, surviving 39 aces and three match points to defeat top seed Ivo Karlovic 6-7(7), 7-6(5), 7-6(8).
Neither Karlovic nor Estrella Burgos faced a break point in the 36 games played. Estrella Burgos squandered four set points in the first-set tie-break, but played a much cleaner tie-break in the second set to level the match.
The top seed held match points at 6/4 in the third-set tie-break, but gave them away with a double fault and a forehand error. Karlovic saved a match point with an ace at 6/7, but missed a forehand just wide up 8/7. The determined Estrella Burgos made good on his second match point at 9/8, forcing a volley error from Karlovic and jubilantly celebrating after wrapping up the match in two hours and 11 minutes.
The 36-year-old Estrella Burgos, currently No. 156 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, improves his record in Quito to 12-0. He also picked up his first Top 20 win since defeating then-World No. 9 Marin Cilic in Barcelona in April 2015.
Next up for Estrella Burgos is qualifier Federico Gaio, who continued his dream run by saving four match points to reach his first ATP World Tour quarter-final over Gerald Melzer 6-7(4), 6-3, 7-6(2). Gaio saved all four match points with Melzer serving for the match at 5-4 in the deciding set. The 24-year-old Italian, currently No. 179 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, won two titles in Italy last year on the ATP Challenger Tour.
[ALSO LIKE]
Third seed Paolo Lorenzi continued his solid form in Quito, moving into the quarter-finals with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Matthew Ebden. The Italian required just a single break of serve in each set and didn’t face any break points. Lorenzi has reached at least the quarter-finals in all three of his appearances in Quito, with his best result being a semi-final finish last year.
Next up for Lorenzi is Rajeev Ram, who reached his first ATP World Tour quarter-final on clay by defeating Nicolas Kicker of Argentina 7-6(5), 6-3. The third seed leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry 1-0, prevailing on the indoor courts of Vienna in October 2015.
“I like playing here. In conditions like this, it’s all about serve and return,” said Ram. “Not too many points go past that, so it’s important to be sharp in those areas.”