WORLD number five and top seed in the Rio Open, Dominic Thiem will have the night to think over his plans to try and topple Italian qualifier, Gianluca Mager. The Austrian star who reached the Australian Open final is trailing 7-6 2-1 when rain hit Rio forcing organisers to first delay and then cancel the matches until tomorrow.

Thiem’s match was not the only one suspended until the next day, with Spanish qualifier Pedro Martinez in control against Hungarian lucky loser, Attila Balazs. The Spaniard leads 6-2 2-2 for a place in the semi-finals. Both will resume at 2pm Rio time tomorrow (4am AEDST). The winners will not get too much of a break, with the semi-final to take place after the other semi-final between third seed, Cristian Garin and fifth seed, Borna Coric.

Garin knocked off Argentinian Federico Coria 2-6 6-3 7-5 and advanced through to the last four, while Coric won through with a 7-6 6-3 victory over Italian Lorenzo Sonego. It was a relieving win for Garin who was out of sorts in the first set, before shaking off the determined Coria to escape the quarter final in two hours and 15 minutes. He won 76 per cent of his first serve points, but was inconsistent with his serve, producing four aces but seven double faults. Garin only won five more points than his opponent but broke for the fourth time at a crucial time late in the match to win.

The winner of Garin and Coric will have some extra rest compared to the other Rio Open final opponent.

QUARTER FINALS RESULTS:

[Q] Gianluca Mager (ITA) leads [1] Dominic Thiem (AUT) 7-6 2-1 SUS
[3] Cristian Garin (CHI) defeated [Q] Federico Coria (ARG) 2-6 6-3 7-5
[5] Borna Coric (CRO) defeated Lorenzo Sonego (ITA) 7-6 6-3
[Q] Pedro Martinez (ESP) leads [LL] Attila Balazs (HUN) 6-2 2-2 SUS