Lopez Battles Into Stuttgart Quarter-finals

Eighth seed Feliciano Lopez, the serve-volleyer from Spain, beat France’s Gilles Simon 7-6(6), 6-4 in one hour and 36 minutes on Thursday for a place in the MercedesCup quarter-finals. Lopez, who hit 16 aces, recovered from a 1-3 deficit in the first set and saved one set point at 5/6 in the tie-break, also beat Simon at the tournament last year en route to the final (l. to Pouille).

The 36-year-old Lopez has a 3-2 record in ATP World Tour grass-court finals, which includes the 2017 Fever-Tree Championships – his first 500-level tournament crown (6-11 finals record). He will next play fourth-seeded Australian Nick Kyrgios or Maximilian Marterer of Germany, who compete in the second round later today.