PORTO, July 1, 2021
No. 3 seed Emilio Gomez leads the quarterfinals line-up of the €44,820 Porto Open, being held on the hard courts of the Complexo Desportivo Monte Aventino in Porto, Portugal. The World No. 169 from Ecuador is the last seeded player left in the singles draw of the lone ATP Challenger Tour event this week.
Gomez fought past French qualifier Geoffrey Blancaneaux 6-1, 6-7(7), 6-1 on Thursday afternoon. The 29-year-old, who captured his second Challenger title on home soil in Salinas in early May, converted five of his 10 break-point chances to secure victory in two hours and 31 minutes.
In his fifth quarterfinal of 2021, Gomez will take on Portuguese veteran Gastao Elias. The local wild card entry defeated No. 8 seed Denis Istomin from Uzbekistan 7-5, 6-4 in one hour and 27 minutes.
Quentin Halys knocked off No. 7 seed Thanasi Kokkinakis from Australia 7-6(5), 6-4 to meet Steven Diez of Canada in the stage of the final eight. Diez upset second favourite Prajnesh Gunneswaran from India 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 after one hour and 48 minutes.
Sieh dir diesen Beitrag auf Instagram an
“It was a very great opponent. Thanasi is one of the best in the draw,” Halys said. “I was expecting a tough match. I played really good today. My serve was solid and it was a consistent match and I am very happy to win in two sets.”
Asked about his upcoming opponent, Halys said: “I don’t know him so much, but I am expecting another tough battle tomorrow. I am ready for it.”
In the top half of the draw, Altug Celikbilek from Turkey, who edged out the tournament’s top seed Thiago Seyboth Wild of Brazil, will play Tatsuma Ito of Japan. Wild card entry Goncalo Oliveira of Portugal will oppose Sergiy Stakhovsky from the Ukraine.
