Barcelona Open holder Casper Ruud ousted Hamad Medjedovic 7-5, 7-5 to reach the quarterfinal on Wednesday.
The Norwegian, ranked 10th in the world, conceded a break in the first game of the first set but pulled level at 4-4 with one of his own.
Ruud survived four break points for a 6-5 lead and then converted his third set point to take the first set.
The 26-year-old, a three-time Grand Slam runner-up, once again came from a break down in the second set to triumph, breaking to love against the Serb to wrap up his win.
“That was quite fortunate today. I’m also happy with my mentality, that I didn’t give up, that I tried to hang in there. It was a little bit too much up and down today for my personal liking,” said Ruud.
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Runner-up to Ruud in 2024, third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas steered into the quarterfinals with a 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 win over American Sebastian Korda.
The Greek came up against spirited opposition, with both players strong on their serve, but did not concede a break point in his straight sets win.
Tsitsipas will face Frenchman Arthur Fils, who breezed past Spain’s Pedro Martinez in straight sets 6-3, 6-2.
Ranked 14th in the world, Fils conceded just one break point in the match, which the 20-year-old saved.
“I think (Fils) is a great competitor, I’ve played him twice and had no luck. I’m going to change a few things compared to those two matches,” said Tsitsipas.
On Thursday world number two Carlos Alcaraz will face Laslo Djere in another second round match, with the Spanish home favourite aiming for his third Barcelona Open title.
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