Rotterdam, Netherlands: Stan Wawrinka joined Andy Murray as the pair of seeds each posted difficult wins on Thursday to advance to the quarter-finals of the ATP Rotterdam World Tennis event.
Wawrinka, last year’s Australian Open winner, struggled until breaking loose with his big game in the final set as he defeated Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-7 (2/7), 6-4, 6-2 for his second win over the Spaniard in three weeks.
Murray saved five break points to hold off determined Canadian Vasek Pospisil 6-3, 7-5 and reach the quarter-finals.
The Scottish top seed and 2009 champion will next meet eighth seed Gilles Simon after the Frenchman needed just 67 minutes for a 6-4, 6-3 defeat of Jeremy Chardy. Murray stands an overwhelming 12-1 in the series with world number 19 Simon.
Second seed Milos Raonic came through over Simone Bolelli 6-3, 7-6 (7/2), with the winner firing 17 aces in an hour and a quarter to wrap up the day just before midnight.
Third-seeded holder Tomas Berdych produced a defeat of Italian Andreas Seppi 6-0, 3-6, 6-3. Berdych swept the opening set before being made to work in the second as Seppi levelled.
The Czech finally prevailed thanks to a break midway through the final set, running out the winner on his first match point.
“Andreas played very well in the second set. For me it was about trying to play like I had in the first set,” said Berdych. “I was still able to finally win in the end.”
Wawrinka had his problems against Garcia-Lopez, whom he beat at the Australian Open last month.
The Swiss fourth seed went down badly in an opening-set tiebreaker to end a 63-minute opening set before recovering to start getting the match under control.
Wawrinka won the second set and ran away with the third to stay alive in an event he last played a decade ago.
“It was a good match with a lot of intensity,” said Wawrinka. “It was a tough battle.”
