(SATSports) – South African Kevin Anderson will play sixth seed Marin Cilic in the Estoril Open quarterfinals after defeating Roberto Carballes Baena in the Round of 16 on Wednesday.
Anderson, a former world number five, defeated the Spaniard 6-3, 7-6 in a match that lasted close to two hours.
The big-serving Anderson hit 12 aces winning 71 percent of his first service points in addition to converting half of the break points against his opponent.
The first set went with serve until Anderson grabbed a decisive break of serve in the eighth game to take a 5-3 lead. He then wrapped up the set winning his first set point.
The second set followed a similar path with Carballes Baena dropping serve in the ninth game to see Anderson take a 5-4 lead.
However, in the next game, the two-time Grand Slam finalist failed to convert four match points allowing Carballes Baena to level the set at 5-5.
The rest of the set went with serve forcing it into a tie-break, which Anderson managed to fight back from 2-4 down to win 7-4 and take the set 7-6.
Anderson will be in his first ATP Tour quarterfinal in about six months having last been at this stage of an event in October 2020 at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna.
Anderson is the continent’s remaining representative in the tournament after his compatriot Lloyd Harris suffered a 6-3, 6-4 defeat against Italy’s Marco Cecchinato in the first round of the Estoril Open.
