KITZBÜHEL, August 2, 2017

Local favourites Sebastian Ofner and Gerald Melzer advanced to the quarterfinals of the Generali Open in Kitzbühel, both winning their second round matches on Wednesday.

Ofner upset the top seed Pablo Cuevas from Uruguay, who made his Kitzbühel debut,in a rain interrupted encounter on centre court 6-3, 2-6, 7-6. The 21-year-old Austrian withstood 10 aces, hitting eight of his own to prevail after exactly two hours of play.

“I’m happy that I stayed focused during the tie-break and I played well,” said Ofner. “For sure, the experience in Wimbledon helped me today. It’s a great feeling to be in the quarters and of course it’s very special to play in front of my home crowd.”

The #NextGenATP player will take on Renzo Olivo, who beat fellow Argentine and eighth favourite Horacio Zeballos 7-6, 6-2 in one hour and 24 minutes.

Melzer edged past Colombian qualifier Santiago Giraldo 6-3, 7-6. The 27-year-old Vienna native won 79 per cent of his first service points and broke serve four times to secure victory in one hour and 20 minutes. Melzer will next face Joao Sousa from Portugal, who knocked out defending champion and the tournament’s number three Paolo Lorenzi 6-7, 6-4, 6-1 after two hours and 24 minutes.

Kitzbühel resident Philipp Kohlschreiber defeated seventh seed Jiri Vesely from the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-3 to play Dusan Lajovic in the quarterfinals. The World No. 71 from Serbia took out fourth favourite Gilles Simon 6-4, 6-4 in one hour and 33 minutes.

The only seeded player left in the singles draw has been Fabio Fognini. The 30-year-old from Italy, who captured the title in Gstaad last Sunday, ended the winning streak of Serbian qualifier Miljan Zekic. Fognini won 53 per cent of the total points played to seal a 6-4, 6-4 win after one hour and 20 minutes. Next up for the second seed will be Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil, who overcame Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff 6-4, 7-6.