Monteiro Ousts Simon In Gstaad; Lopez Advances

An overnight delay couldn’t help second seed Gilles Simon turn his second-round match around against qualifier Thiago Monteiro at the J. Safra Sarasin Swiss Open Gstaad. The Brazilian led 6-4, 4-3 when play was suspended on Thursday evening due to rain and returned Friday to oust Simon 6-2, 6-4.

After strong showings on the ATP Challenger Tour this season, World No. 110 Monteiro is through to his second ATP World Tour quarter-final of 2016, having also reached the last eight on home soil in Sao Paulo (l. to Cuevas).

Another seed exited as Dustin Brown upset No. 7 Mikhail Youzhny 6-4, 6-4 in 71 minutes to reach the semi-finals. The German saved the eight break points he faced as he won the pair’s first FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting. Brown is coming off a quarter-final showing in Bastad (l. to Ferrer) and goes on to face top seed Feliciano Lopez. Lopez was tested in his quarter-final affair against #NextGen star Elias Ymer, needing five match points to turn aside the young Swede 6-4, 7-6(2). The Spaniard, who prevailed after one hour and 46 minutes, was denied on four match points at 6-5 in the second set, as Ymer battled back from 0/40 down to force a tie-break. Lopez proved to be too strong, however, reaching his third ATP World Tour semi-final of the year (Houston & Dubai).

“It was a tough match,” said Lopez. “He’s a very talented young player and one of the young stars of the new generation that they are really pushing. The fact that I didn’t win the second set 7-5 and he saved four match points shows you that. I was a little tight but then I played a very good tie-break. Maybe there was a 10-year difference, but I try to be in shape to face those young stars.”