ECKENTAL, November 1, 2018

Matthias Bachinger headlined Wednesday’s second round action at the Eckental Challenger with a hard-fought victory over No. 8 seeded Austrian Dennis Novak.

The 31-year-old German, who beat compatriot Kevin Krawietz in three sets in the opening round, sent down eight aces, winning 79 per cent of his first service points to secure a 2-6, 7-6(8), 6-4 victory in one hour and 46 minutes.

Earlier in the day, Italian veteran Simone Bolelli knocked out top seed Lukas Lacko of Slovakia 7-6(1), 6-3. The 33-year-old Bologna native won 80 per cent of his first service points to advance after one hour and 25 minutes. Bolelli will next take on German wild card entry Daniel Masur, who eased past lucky loser Borna Gojo of Croatia 6-3, 6-0.

The tournament’s No. 3 fell in the second round, as Guillermo Garcia-López from Spain lost 6-4, 7-6(0) to French qualifier Gleb Sakharov. The 30-year-old Nantes resident outpointed his opponent 83-73 in just under two hours of play. Sakharov will face Bachinger in Friday’s quarterfinals.