Jiri Vesely had to battle for more than three hours on Thursday to reach the Grand Prix Hassan II quarter-finals.

The eighth seed recorded just his third match win of the season by overcoming qualifier Nikola Mektic 6-7(4), 6-3, 7-6(5). Vesely hit 15 aces to Mektic’s 10.

“It was a tough match today,” said Vesely. “I didn’t play with a lot of confidence because I only won one match before the beginning of this tournament. I’m very happy about this victory. I kept fighting and never gave up. It was a very important win for me.”

Vesely will next play top seed Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, who broke a three-match losing streak against Nicolas Almagro in a 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory. Garcia-Lopez won the 2014 title (d. Granollers) when the ATP World Tour 250 tournament was played in Casablanca.

Seventh seed Pablo Carreno Busta lost just five of his first service points in a 6-3, 7-6(5) win over Denis Istomin.

It seemed like a routine interview with Marcos Baghdatis in Houston until it was abruptly interrupted by a blaring warning. 

The culprit? Despite there not being a cloud in the sky, the neighbouring golf course lightening siren sounded. 

Watch what happened next…

Juan Monaco, the 2012 champion of the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship, made a statement in Houston with a 6-3, 7-5 second-round win over second seed Benoit Paire. The former Top-10 player, who defeated Gerald Melzer in the first round, last posted consecutive tour-level wins in Nice 13 months ago (l. to Mayer in QF).

The 32 year old from Tandil has more clay-court wins than any other participant in this year’s tournament (229-136). The Argentine saved 10 break points (10/12) in the 93-minute encounter and improved to 3-1 in the FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry against Paire.

In beating Paire, No. 22 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, Monaco scored his first Top-25 win since Miami 2015 (d. Garcia-Lopez). His opponent in the quarter-finals will be Sam Querrey, who downed Benjamin Becker 6-3, 6-3.

The big-hitting Querrey needed only 50 minutes to defeat Becker. He hit 13 aces and saved both break points faced to improve to 3-0 against the German. A two-time finalist (2010 and 2015) in Houston, Querrey is now 13-6 at the event. The fifth seed has never beaten Monaco on clay (0-3) and trails 1-4 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry.

Second seeds Philipp Petzschner and Alexander Peya edged Paolo Lorenzi and Diego Schwartzman 7-6(1), 7-6(3) in the first round of the Fayez Sarofim & Co US Men’s Clay Court Championship in Houston on Wednesday. The German/Austrian duo saved four break points and advanced in 96 minutes.

Top Seeds Upset In Marrakech

Top seeds Dominic Inglot and Robert Lindstedt were eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Grand Prix Hassan II in Marrakech by Marin Draganja and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi 6-3, 7-6(2) in 75 minutes. Draganja/Qureshi saved the lone break point faced and only dropped two points on their second serve (14/16).

Third seeds Mate Pavic and Michael Venus advanced to the quarter-finals after downing Argentines Facundo Bagnis and Federico Delbonis 7-6(7), 6-2. Pavic/Venus took the first set despite winning six fewer points than their opponents (38 to 44) before hitting their stride and closing out the match in 85 minutes.

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Fayez Sarofim & Co US Men’s Clay Court Championship – Houston, TX

John Isner, Jack Sock, Feliciano Lopez, Alexander Peya, Dustin Brown, Benjamin Becker and more attended the all-white tournament player party. Watch Video

Lopez also walked tournament director Bronwyn Green and fashion show chairwoman Libbye Morrell down the catwalk at the Houston fashion show. View Photo

Steve Johnson, Frances Tiafoe, Tommy Paul and Paolo Lorenzi participated in USTA Play Day, Tim Smyczek, Santiago Gonzalez, Eric Butorac and Scott Lipsky helped out at the Young Professionals Organization clinic and Feliciano Lopez, Marcus Daniell and Artem Sitak helped at the clinic for the tournament title sponsor, Fayez Sarofim & Co.

Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan led a High School Tennis Q&A with local students.

Philipp Petzschner and Alexander Peya were the lucky stars to assist at the Ladies’ Day Clinic. View Photo

Bjorn Fratangelo and Brian Baker visited Memorial Hermann hospital. View Photo 

Donald Young, Benjamin Becker, Hyeon Chung, Tim Smyczek, Marcos Baghdatis and Benoit Paire did autograph signings with local fans.

Grand Prix Hassan II – Marrakech, Morocco 

Borna Coric, Paul-Henri Mathieu, Simone Bolelli and Reda El Amrani kicked off the tournament Sunday with a trip to took Menara Gardens by horse-drawn carriage. Read More  

“It’s nice to see something of the city and the landscape,” said Bolelli. “Marrakech is a beautiful city and I’m looking forward to playing here.” 

Nicolas Almagro, Dominic Inglot, Federico Delbonis, Oliver Marach, Fabrice Martin and former player Younes El Aynaoui attended the player party at The Pearl Marrakech. Players were treated to a buffet dinner and entertainment from local musicians. View Photo

Kenny de Schepper visited Jemaa El-Fna Square and participated in kids’ day activities with Jiri Vesely, Thiemo de Bakker and NextGen star Elias Ymer.

Facundo Bagnis reached his first ATP World Tour quarter-final on Wednesday by knocking out second seed Joao Sousa 6-2, 6-4 in 70 minutes at the Grand Prix Hassan II. Sousa is now 4-10 on the season.

Bagnis will now face Albert Montanes, who recorded his fourth straight win over fellow Spaniard Daniel Gimeno-Traver 6-4, 6-4 in 77 minutes.

Paul-Henri Mathieu, who won the 2007 title when the tournament was held in Casablanca, will face third seed Borna Coric in the last eight. Mathieu won 83 per cent of his first service points to overcome qualifier Maximo Gonzalez 7-6(4), 6-0 in just over 90 minutes.​

Coric, this season’s Chennai finalist, advanced without striking a ball when Simone Bolelli pulled out of the ATP World Tour 250 tournament due to a knee injury.

Seventh seed and this year’s Sao Paulo runner-up Pablo Carreno Busta once against got the better of Evgeny Donskoy 6-2, 6-3 in a first-round clash. Last month, Carreno Busta beat Donskoy 6-3, 6-4 at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.