IT was another big day across the three ATP 250 events, with Round of 16 matches completed in two of them, while Cordoba’s time difference meant the rest of its second round clashes will be completed over the next eight hours.

Two top four upsets in the Round of 16 have flung the door wide open in the quarter finals stage of the Open Sud de France, with just four of the eight seeds remaining in Montpellier. Those four seeds all play each other, guaranteeing two unseeded players will reach the semi-finals.

Austrian Dennis Novak upset third seed Serbian Dusan Lajovic in straight sets, 7-6 7-5, while Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina was even more clinical during a 7-5 6-2 victory over fourth seed Pole Hubert Hurkacz. With those seeds out, they set up quarter finals clashes with Peter Gojowczyk and Egor Gerasimov respectively.

Gojowczyk knocked off Jiri Vesely in the tightest match of the day, needing three sets to put away the tricky Czech, as the German qualifier came back from a tiebreak down to win 6-7 7-6 6-3. Meanwhile Gerasimov won against Slovenian Aljaz Bedene – who took out Jannik Sinner in Round 1 – in a tight two sets as well, 6-4 7-6.

Order was restored with Roberto Bautista Agut stepped on court as he destroyed French qualifier Gregoire Barrere 6-0 6-3 in a dominant performance. Now Bautista Agut will face the last remaining Frenchman in Montpellier, sixth seed Ugo Humbert in the quarter finals. At the other end of the draw, second seed David Goffin will take on Italian seventh seed Lorenzo Sonego.

OPEN SUD DE FRANCE ROUND OF 16 RESULTS:

[1] Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP) defeated [Q] Gregoire Barrere (FRA) 6-0 6-3
Dennis Novak (AUT) defeated [3] Dusan Lajovic (SRB) 7-6 7-5
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (ESP) defeated [4] Hubert Hurkacz (POL) 7-5 6-2
Egor Gerasimov (BLR) defeated Aljaz Bedene (SLO) 6-4 7-6
[Q] Peter Gojowczyk (GER) defeated Jiri Vesely (CZE) 6-7 7-6 6-3

The biggest upset in Singapore was the ousting of second seed and tournament favourite, John Millman who went down to compatriot and wildcard Matthew Ebden. It marked Millman’s second consecutive loss after a shock defeat in the opening round of the Australian Open to Corentin Moutet. Ebden proved far too good on the day, cruising through in a 6-4 6-1 victory to set up a quarter finals clash with compatriot Alexei Popyrin.

Millman was the only seed to lose on the day, with now tournament favourite, Adrian Mannarino booking his place in the quarter finals. The top seed won 6-3 7-5 over Mexico’s Roberto Marcora to make it into the final eight, whilst other seeds, Radu Albot and Soonwoo Kwon also secured wins. Albot defeated Yannick Hanfmann in a come-from-behind thriller, defeating the German 6-7 7-6 6-3 which included saving multiple match points. Meanwhile Kwon took out Japan’s Yasutaka Uchiyama to reach the quarter finals with a 6-3 6-4 triumph.

Popyrin and Ebden’s quarter final will be the only unseeded quarter final with the six other seeds all reaching the last eight of the Singapore tournament. Mannarino will now take on Albot for a spot in the semis, while Kwon and third seed Marin Cilic go head-to-head, as does fourth seed Alexander Bublik and fifth seed Yoshihito Nishioka.

SINGAPORE ROUND OF 16 RESULTS:

[1] Adrian Mannarino (FRA) defeated Roberto Marcora (MEX) 6-3 7-5
[WC] Matthew Ebden (AUS) defeated [2] John Millman (AUS) 6-4 6-1
[6] Radu Albot (MCE) defeated Yannick Hanfmann (GER) 6-7 7-6 6-3
[8] Soonwoo Kwon (KOR) defeated Yasutaka Uchiyama (JPN) 6-3 6-4

Frenchman Benoit Paire grabbed his first win of 2021, and only second in the last 12 months when he took care of Chilean wildcard Nicolas Jarry in straight sets at Cordoba. Paire won 6-2 6-4 to get the monkey off the back after being 1-9 since the restart of the Tour in August. Jarry was not the only Chilean to be sent packing from the event, with qualifier Marcel Tomas Barrios Vera going down. He lost out to Jozef Kovalik, with the Slovakian coming from behind to win in three sets, 4-6 6-2 6-3 and book his spot in the quarter finals.

In the other two matches played yesterday, four Argentinians stepped on court with one higher ranked and one lower ranked player winning against their respective opponents. Qualifier Facundo Bagnis took full advantage against eighth seed Federico Delbonis, knocking him out of the tournament with a 6-4 7-5 win. Meanwhile Federico Coria had to come back from a disappointing first set to post a 1-6 6-2 6-4 victory over wildcard Francisco Cerundolo.

The four remaining Round of 16 matches – including three with Argentinians – will take place today.

CORDOBA ROUND OF 16 RESULTS:

[2] Benoit Paire (FRA) defeated [WC] Nicolas Jarry (CHI) 6-2 6-4
Jozef Kovalik (SVK) defeated [Q] Marcelo Tomas Barrios Vera (CHI) 4-6 6-2 6-3
Federico Coria [ARG] defeated [WC] Francisco Cerundolo (ARG) 1-6 6-2 6-4
[Q] Facundo Bagnis (ARG) defeated [8] Federico Delbonis (ARG) 6-4 7-5

Picture credit: J.B. Autissier – Panoramic