GUAYAQUIL/STARNBERG, November 4, 2021
Colombia’s Daniel Elahi Galan, Alejandro Tabilo of Chile, Dutchman Jesper De Jong and Portuguese Goncalo Oliveira advanced to the quarterfinals of the Challenger Ciudad de Guayaquil Copa Banco Guayaquil presented by CNT, a $52,080 clay-court tournament being held at the Anexo Guayaquil Tenis Club.
Oliveira knocked out defending champion and No. 5 seed Francisco Cerundolo from Argentina 6-4, 6-3 on Wednesday. The World No. 298 converted four of his 15 break-point chances to seal victory in one hour and 42 minutes.
“Francisco was playing very hard, he played very nice points, but I am happy with the final result. The rallies were quite long and complicated, I think I did it quite well and I had many chances in the second set at 4-2 and stayed mentally strong,” said Oliveira.
The 26-year-old from Porto will next take on Tabilo, who backed up his first-round upset over top seed Jaume Munar with a solid 6-3, 6-1 win over Darian King from Barbados in 59 minutes.
🎾 Highlights Alejandro Tabilo CHI 🇨🇱 vs. Darian King BAR 🇧🇧 #ChallengerDeGuayaquil@AndresGomezGogo @LAMorejon @BancoGuayaquil @CNT_EC @alcaldiagye
🎥 Sala de Prensa / @Steven_Mejia95 pic.twitter.com/Xz6PlEVCnq— Challenger de Guayaquil (@challengye05) November 4, 2021
Later in the day, De Jong cruised past 2019 finalist and No. 7 seed Hugo Dellien of Bolivia in only 48 minutes. The 21-year-old Harlem native hit six aces, saved the only break point he faced and capitalized on five of his own seven break-point chances to succeed.
De Jong, who reached the semi-finals in Guayaquil last year, will next face Elahi Galan. The No. 3 seed ended the run of Argentine qualifier Facundo Juarez, winning 6-4, 6-3 in one hour and 15 minutes.
“He was a tough rival without a doubt, Facundo came with confidence, winning many matches and today I had to do my best,” said Galan.
Highlights partido Daniel Galán COL vs Facundo Juárez ARG #ChallengerdeGuayaquil 2da ronda pic.twitter.com/rbKtwIbEab
— Challenger de Guayaquil (@challengye05) November 4, 2021
