Feliciano Lopez, seeded third, defeated Blaz Kavcic to set up a quarter-final clash with Rajeev Ram at the SA Tennis Open.
Jamaican Brown continues his fine run with victory over Recouderc
Feliciano Lopez booked his place in the quarter-finals of the SA Tennis Open with a straight-sets win over Blaz Kavcic.
The Spaniard, seeded third in Johannesburg, overcame his Slovakian opponent 6-2 7-6 (7/4) thanks to winning 33 of 37 points on his first serve.
"It was tough and I tired during the second set while Blaz improved considerably. However, I am happy to be in the quarter-finals," he said.
Next up for Lopez will be Rajeev Ram, who is bidding for a second career title after winning the Campbell's Hall of Fame Tennis Championships last year.
The fifth-seeded American needed to come out on top in two tie-breaks to see off the challenge of Germany's Bjorn Phau 7-6 (12-10) 7-6 (7-2).
Brilliant Brown
Stephane Robert was another seed to reach the last eight after beating South African Izak van der Merwe 7-6 (9-7) 6-1.
Next up for the Frenchman will be little-known Dustin Brown. The German-born Jamaican continued his impressive run in the tournament with a 6-4 6-4 win over Frenchman Laurent Recouderc.
Brown, ranked 141 in the world, had caused the biggest upset in the opening round of the tournament by knocking out fourth seed Marco Chiudinelli.
"I'm still a little overwhelmed," the 25-year-old said afterwards. "I got lucky against Chiudinelli but, in beating a good player, I had confidence for today."
Top seed Gael Monfils is back in action on Thursday when he takes on fellow Frenchman Josselin Ouanna in the second round.
