Max Purcell of Australia upset top-seeded Frenchman Gael Monfils 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, in the round of 16 at Viking International Eastbourne in England on Wednesday.
Purcell overcame Monfils’ 16 aces and came from behind 3-0 in the last set, winning five straight games to wrest control. Monfils, though ranked No. 16 in the world, hasn’t reached the quarterfinals of an ATP Tour event since February 2020.
Next, Purcell will face Italian Andreas Seppi, who defeated Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori 6-2, 6-3. Other winners Wednesday included Australian No. 2 seed Alex de Minaur, Italian No. 3 seed Lorenzo Sonego, No. 8 seed Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan, Ilya Ivashka of Belarus, Soonwoo Kwon of South Korea and Canadian Vasek Pospisil.
Mallorca Championships
A pair of Spaniards advanced Wednesday, meaning three players representing the host country will compete in the quarterfinals in Mallorca.
No. 3 seed Roberto Bautista Agut defeated Italy’s Stefano Travaglia 6-3, 7-5, in 86 minutes and No. 4 seed Pablo Carreno Busta outlasted Jiri Vesely of the Czech Republic 6-4, 6-4, in an hour and 38 minutes.
American Sam Querrey advanced via walkover as No. 7 seed Ugo Humbert withdrew. Australia’s Jordan Thompson also moved on, beating Lukas Klein of Slovakia 6-4, 6-4. Bautista Agut will see Querrey in the quarters and Carreno Busta will square off with Thompson.
Spain’s Feliciano Lopez previously advanced to the quarterfinals Tuesday.
–Field Level Media
