Feliciano Lopez wins again in Mallorca, gets Tsitsipas conquerer Yannick Hanfmann next
The 41-year-old Spaniard is playing the final tournament of his career this week on home soil.
Feliciano Lopez isn’t ready to hang up his racquet just yet.
A day after coming through the first round of his farewell tournament, the 41-year-old added a second victory Wednesday at the Mallorca Championships.
Lopez eliminated an Australian competitor for the second day running, overcoming Jordan Thompson, 7-6 (6), 1-6, 6-3. The 634th-ranked wild card saved a set point in the opening set and closed in style with an ace to reach the quarterfinals.
Yannick Hanfmann will look to dash any hopes of Lopez writing a storybook ending to his playing career.
The German ousted defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, for his maiden Top 5 victory. Hanfmann, now 16-9 in tour-level matches this season, converted both of his break point chances in the decisive set against the top-seeded Tsitsipas. The Greek heads to Wimbledon with just one win in four grass-court matches contested this month.
In a battle between Americans, Christopher Eubanks squeaked past No. 3 seed Ben Shelton, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (2), thanks to producing 40 winners on the day. Shelton double-faulted 14 times in defeat.
With a semifinal spot up for grabs, Eubanks next meets lucky loser Arthur Rinderknech.