It was a day of stunning results at the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag on Thursday, as every seeded player who took the court in quarterfinal action walked away with a loss.
Alex Molcan of the Slovak Republic was the first to deliver a shock, beating second-seeded Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain by a score of 3-6, 6-1, 6-2. Molcan capitalized on 4 of his 8 break-point chances, while Davidovich Fokina converted just 1 of 4. Despite having more winners on the day — 24 to Molcan’s 21 — the Spaniard was undone by 34 unforced errors compared to just 19 from his opponent.
In the longest match of the day, Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia and Herzegovina outlasted fourth-seeded Matteo Arnaldi of Italy in a grueling three-hour, 42-minute battle, winning 7-6 (5), 6-7 (4), 7-6 (4). Arnaldi dominated the statistical categories — racking up 62 winners to Dzumhur’s 29 — but was also plagued by 67 unforced errors and five double faults, compared to just 25 and 1 for his opponent.
A clash between two Argentine players rounded out the seeded upsets, with unseeded Roman Andres Burruchaga defeating seventh-seeded Camilo Ugo Carabelli 6-2, 2-6, 6-3. Burruchaga dominated with 21 winners to Carabelli’s 9 and converted 4 of 5 break-point opportunities, while Carabelli managed only 3 of 7.
The day’s fourth quarterfinal featured two unseeded players, with Spain’s Daniel Merida comfortably dispatching France’s Titouan Droguet 6-1, 6-3.
EFG Swiss Open Gstaad
In Gstaad, Switzerland, second-seeded Casper Ruud of Norway rallied after dropping the opening set to defeat Portugal’s Jaime Faria 6-7 (1), 6-4, 6-2 in the second round. Ruud, ranked 13th in the world, needed two hours and 32 minutes to get past Faria, ranked 92nd, converting 4 of 14 break-point chances to Faria’s 1 of 6.
Sixth-seeded Juan Manuel Cerundolo of Argentina followed a similar script, recovering from a first-set loss to beat Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic 3-6, 6-3, 7-5. Cerundolo, who will next face Ruud in the quarterfinals, recorded nine aces to Kecmanovic’s two and saved 2 of 3 break points, while Kecmanovic saved 2 of 4.
Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas also advanced after his match against Swiss wild card Jerome Kym was suspended Wednesday night due to darkness with the third set level at 5-5. Tsitsipas completed the victory Thursday, winning 6-4, 6-7 (2), 7-6 (5). He will face fourth-seeded Arthur Rinderknech of France in the quarterfinals.
Nordea Open
In Bastad, Sweden, top seed and defending champion Andrey Rublev avoided an upset, defeating Italy’s Andrea Pellegrino 7-6 (3), 6-7 (7), 6-3 to reach the quarterfinals. The Russian, who claimed this title in 2023, served 18 aces against four double faults and won 80 percent of his first-serve points — going 53 for 66. Remarkably, he did not face a single break point, while Pellegrino saved 6 of 7.
Third-seeded Alejandro Tabilo of Chile also moved on, beating Argentine qualifier Lautaro Midon 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-4. Seventh-seeded Thiago Agustin Tirante of Argentina topped Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, and eighth-seeded Sebastian Baez of Argentina made quick work of the Netherlands’ Jesper De Jong, winning 6-4, 6-2 in just one hour and nine minutes.
