SANTIAGO, Chile — Homecrowd favourite Christian Garin made fans suffer Thursday, but advanced to the Chile Open quarterfinals after a hard-fought match against 20-year-old Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain.
Garin, the top seed in Santiago coming off a victory Sunday in the Rio Open, beat Fokina 6-2, 0-6, 7-6 (4). Garin struggled with back pain in the final two sets.
His next adversary will be Brazilian Thiago Wild, who earlier topped fifth-seeded Juan Ignacio Londero of Argentina 7-6 (7), 6-4.
Third-seeded Albert Ramos Vinolas of Spain and No. 8 Thiago Monteiro of Brazil will face off in another quarterfinal.
Vinolas beat Peru’s Juan Pablo Varillas 7-6 (3), 6-2, and Monteiro overcame Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena 6-1, 6-4.
