Valencia Open 500 2015: Thursday Tennis Scores, Results, Updated Draw Schedule
The top seeds are dropping like flies at the Valencia Open 500 after Feliciano Lopez, Benoit Paire and Fabio Fognini were among the casualties to fall in Thursday's round-of-16 schedule.
Following Bernard Tomic's Wednesday exit and David Ferrer being forced to pull out with injury, Roberto Bautista-Agut and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez remain as the only seeded entrants after winning their second-round ties.
Steve Johnson, Joao Sousa and Mischa Zverev defeated Lopez, Paire and Fognini, respectively, to reach the quarter-finals and continue their campaigns in what now looks like a very open field in Valencia.
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Read on for a recap of all of Thursday's round-of-16 results, along with a look at Friday's quarter-final schedule.
| Mischa Zverev | 6-2, 7-6(3) | Fabio Fognini |
| Daniel Brands | 6-2, 6-2 | Albert Montanes |
| Steve Johnson | 6-4, 7-6(3) | Feliciano Lopez |
| Joao Sousa | 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 | Benoit Paire |
| Roberto Bautista-Agut | 6-2, 6-3 | Andrey Rublev |
| Guillermo Garcia-Lopez | 6-3, 6-4 | Taro Daniel |
| 9 a.m. GMT/5 a.m. ET | Roberto Bautista-Agut vs. Mischa Zverev |
| 9 a.m. GMT/5 a.m. ET | Daniel Brands vs. Vasek Pospisil |
| 9 a.m. GMT/5 a.m. ET | Pablo Cuevas vs. Joao Sousa |
| 9 a.m. GMT/5 a.m. ET | Guillermo Garcia-Lopez vs. Steve Johnson |
Thursday Recap
The round of 16 brought about a swifter pace in Valencia, as only one of Thursday's six matches went beyond two sets, with Sousa forced into a tough testament of his credentials against No. 5 seed Paire.
It became clear early on this would prove a stiff contest en route to Sousa's first-set win, where a 17-point game meant Paire had his back to the wall at 3-3 but lost his serve twice to slip behind.
Underdog Sousa repaid the favour with a poor second-set display, where he lost three of his four serves, but Paire eventually followed countryman Jeremy Chardy out of the tournament with a 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 defeat.
Dark horse Zverev is another gathering pace in Spain after defeating fourth seed Fognini 6-2, 7-6 on Thursday. Analyst Craig O'Shannessy illustrated his stellar 2015 form of late:
Fognini was the German's second big scalp of the tournament after he did away with Thomaz Bellucci in the first round and proved unwavering in the round of 16, conceding only one serve to his Italian foe.
Bautista-Agut and Garcia-Lopez continued flying flags for the native audience, as the Spanish pair defeated Andrey Rublev and Taro Daniel, respectively, to book their places in the final eight.
Bautista-Agut hardly had to exit second gear as he waged a 6-2, 6-3 dismantling of Russian Rublev, while Daniel surrendered a 3-0 lead in the second set to gift Garcia-Lopez a 6-3, 6-4 victory.
The same couldn't be said for the ousted Lopez, though, as he fell to American contender Johnson, who Tennis Spin attested to being in great form of late alongside countryman Donald Young, who beat Kevin Anderson in Basel:
According to the official ATP World Tour website, Lopez dominated the ace count 17 to 12, but he also committed more double-faults and performed worse in service points overall, which came to dictate the tie as Johnson prevailed 6-4, 7-6.
Daniel Brands completed the quarter-final lineup after defeating qualifier Albert Montanes for the second time in this tournament after he was scheduled to come up against the injured Ferrer. It turned out to be a one-sided affair, as lucky loser Montanes fell 6-2, 6-2, and Brands will now come up against Vasek Pospisil as he looks to maintain a sterling Valencia Open 500 run.
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