Garin Continues Winning Ways In Rio

Cristian Garin is on track to finish this month as the king of the Latin Swing. The third-seeded Chilean maintained his winning streak on Wednesday by defeating Federico Delbonis 6-4, 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals at the Rio Open presented by Claro.

Garin fired 22 winners en route to advancing in one hour and 37 minutes. The 23-year-old took the title two weeks ago in Cordoba (d. Schwartzman) and has prevailed in his past six matches.

Next up for the third seed is Argentine qualifier Federico Coria, who defeated wild card Carlos Alcaraz 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 to end the 16-year-old Spaniard’s inspired ATP Tour debut. Alcaraz produced plenty of flashy winners throughout the match, but ultimately succumbed to 35 unforced errors throughout the night, compared to just nine for Coria.

The 27-year-old Coria, No. 116 in in the FedEx ATP Rankings, has advanced to his maiden ATP Tour quarter-final. His dream run this week included saving two match points in his first-round victory over Frenchman Corentin Moutet. Coria has primarily competed on the ATP Challenger Tour, winning his first Challenger title last year in Savannah. He is also the younger brother of former World No. 3 Guillermo Coria.

Hungarian lucky loser Attila Balazs continued to make the most of his good fortune by rallying to defeat Brazilian Thiago Monteiro 1-6, 6-1, 6-4. The 31-year-old is through to his first quarter-final at an ATP 500 event and will make his debut inside the Top 100 on Monday.

Balazs will look to continue his run when he meets qualifier Pedro Martinez, who reached his first tour-level quarter-final with a 6-1, 6-4 win over fellow Spaniard Pablo Andujar. Martinez had never won an ATP Tour match when the year began, but is now 5-3 this season. The 22-year-old is projected to crack the Top 100 if he prevails against Balazs on Friday.