TENERIFE, November 4, 2021
The bottom half of the singles draw was in action on Thursday to complete the quarterfinals line-up at the Tenerife Challenger. It was another sunny day with temperatures above 20 degrees Celsius at the Abama Tennis Academy in Guía de Isora, situated at the foot of the the Teno massif, one of three volcanic formations that gave rise to the largest of the Canary Islands.
No. 2 seed Feliciano Lopez, who struggled with his rhythm in his opening match against Dalibor Svrcina, showed a more solid performance to book his spot in the stage of the final eight at the €44,820 hard-court event. The 40-year-old Spaniard defeated Frederico Ferrerira Silva from Portugal 7-6(3), 6-3.
Lopez fired 14 aces and won 85 per cent of his first-service points. The seven-time ATP-Tour champion saved both break points he faced to prevail after one hour and 40 minutes.
#FelicianoLópez gana a #FerreiraSilva y llega a cuartos de final en #Tenerife 🇪🇸🙌🏻@ATPChallenger | @feliciano_lopez | @visit_tenerife | #TenerifeChallenger pic.twitter.com/HNzO1hbGRh
— MEF tennis events (@meftennisevents) November 4, 2021
“It was a very hard match against a solid opponent, ideal to finally get into the rhythm on the court,” said Lopez. “Ferreira Silva knows how to deal with every situation and gives you only a few chances. The service helped me to overcome the important moments of the challenge. Overall I am happy with the level I played and I want to continue like this.”
Next up for Lopez will be Ryan Peniston. On Grandstand, the 25-year-old Briton battled past Michael Geerts from Belgium 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(2) after three hours and 15 minutes, the longest match of the day.
Ryan Peniston completes the QF line-up at the Tenerife Challenger 🇮🇨
The 25-year-old 🇬🇧 fights past Michael Geerts 🇧🇪 7-5 4-6 7-6. #ATPChallengerTour #Tenerife 🌴@meftennisevents @visit_tenerife pic.twitter.com/hc4jKEQqOQ
— TennisTourTalk (@TennisTourTalk) November 4, 2021
Earlier on Center Court, Andrey Kuznetsov knocked off No. 4 seed Quentin Halys from France 6-4, 7-6(6). The 30-year-old Russian converted three of his six break-point chances to secure victory in one hour and 30 minutes.
“I was a bit shaky at the beginning but then I found my game and everything was going the right way,” said Kuznetsov, who struggled towards the end to serve the encounter out.
“I don’t know. I made doubles faults and we had some long rallies in which he didn’t miss balls. I started to feel some pressure. It was tough to forget about it and to continue playing in the tie-break of the second set but I am very happy to win.”
Kuznetsov will next play eighth-seeded Portuguese Joao Sousa, who beat Frenchman Manuel Guinard 7-5, 6-0 in one hour and 20 minutes.
📆 Order of play | Friday 5 November @RFETenis | @ATPChallenger pic.twitter.com/RSVEDxqmH7
— MEF tennis events (@meftennisevents) November 4, 2021
