BRAUNSCHWEIG, July 12, 2018

Two Germans join the top two seeds in the quarterfinals of the Sparkassen Open. In particular Yannick Hanfmann showed his fighting spirit, as he rallied past fellow German Dustin Brown 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-2 on Wednesday afternoon.

The No. 7 seed came back from 3-6, 4-5 with Brown serving for the match. Hanfmann stayed focused and tried to neutralize the unpredictable game of his opponent, which paid off. The 26-year-old prevailed after one hour and 44 minutes.

“The last few weeks have not only been positive for me but I was able to learn from such difficult situations,” Hanfmann explained afterwards.

The World No. 111 will next take on the tournament’s No. 2 Roberto Carballés-Baena. The 25-year-old Spaniard fought past Yannick Maden of Germany 4-6, 6-2, 7-5. The encounter lasted two hours and 36 minutes.

Moraing prevails

Mats Moraing will be the second local favourite in the quarterfinals. The reigning Koblenz Open champion knows how to clinch a title on home soil. The 26-year-old leftie also had to go the distance beating Martin Cuevas of Uruguay 6-4, 2-6, 6-4. Moraing sent down eight aces, winning 80 per cent of his first service points to secure victory in one hour and 49 minutes.

“With the exception of the grass-court tournaments I play a very good season,” Moraing said. “I am very happy to remain in the tournament. This is very special.” Next up will be Andrea Arnaboldi of Italy.

Top seed Pablo Cuevas advanced to the stage of the final eight with a comfortable 6-3, 6-3 win over German qualifier Marvin Netuschil. The World No. 76 from Uruguay converted five of his nine break point chances to finish the encounter in one hour and 37 minutes. Cuevas will next face Jozef Kovalik of Slovakia.

Arthur de Greef from Belgium and Bolivia’s Hugo Dellien will go head-to-head in the final quarterfinal.