MESTRE, May 18, 2016

The bottom of the draw was in second round action at the €42,500 XIV Venice Challenger Save Cup on Wednesday. The two seeds in this section prevailed but had to fight hard.

The tournament’s number two Dusan Lajovic overcame José Hernandez-Fernandez 6-4, 6-7, 7-5. The 25-year-old from Belgrade hit six aces and converted six of is 22 break point chances to advance after two hours and 39 minutes. Lajovic will next take on Joris de Loore, who emerged victorious from the all-Belgian-encounter with Yannik Reuter, winning 6-3, 6-4.

Third seed Horacio Zeballos battled past Robin Stanek 6-1, 6-7, 6-4. The world number 93 from Argentina lost his service only once, breaking his opponent five times. Zeballos finished the match after two hours and 23 minutes to set a quarterfinal meeting with Italian wild card Gianluca Mager. The 21-year-old defeated Gerard Granollers 6-4, 6-4.