Second seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas came out on top in an all-Spanish battle on Friday against qualifier Roberto Carballes Baena, prevailing 7-5, 4-6, 6-2 to move into the semi-finals of the Ecuador Open in Quito.
Little separated the two players for most of the match, but Ramos-Vinolas relied on his outstanding stamina to power through the final four games and advance in two hours and 54 minutes. He has now matched his semi-final result from last year in Quito (l. Estrella Burgos).
Next up for Ramos-Vinolas is third seed Paolo Lorenzi, who continued his outstanding form by cruising past Rajeev Ram 6-3, 6-4 and matching his semi-final result from last year in Quito. The Italian, who has yet to drop serve this week, needed just a single break of serve in each set to pick up the win in 66 minutes. Ramos-Vinolas is even in his FedEx ATP Head2Head with Lorenzi at 1-1.
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Two-time defending champion Victor Estrella Burgos improved his Quito record to 13-0 by ending the dream run of Italian qualifier Federico Gaio 6-4, 6-4. The Dominican Republican player survived 39 aces and three match points on Thursday night to oust top seed Ivo Karlovic in a third-set tie-break, but enjoyed a much more routine victory against Gaio. The World No. 156 in the Emirates ATP Rankings picked up the lone break of serve in each set and controlled the majority of the baseline rallies.
Standing in the way of another Quito final for Estrella Burgos is fourth seed Thomaz Bellucci, who produced a convincing 6-2, 6-1 win over eighth seed Renzo Olivo in just 53 minutes. Estrella Burgos leads his FedEx ATP Head2Head with Bellucci 2-0, with both wins coming in Quito. He defeated Bellucci in the 2015 semi-finals, then narrowly prevailed again in three sets in last year's championship match.