The quarterfinal field is set at the Swiss Indoors with only three of the seeded players reaching the last eight. It’s been a wild and unpredictable tournament so far full of high-quality tennis and Thursday was no exception as the final second round matches were completed. Here’s what happened on day four in Basel.

Results

For the second round in a row, Stan Wawrinka needed three sets to put away a pesky opponent. This time, it was American Donald Young who threw everything he had at Wawrinka over three sets. Unfortunately for the American, by the third set, he seemed to be running out of gas and fewer and fewer of his big shots were finding the court. Wawrinka secured an early break and hung on for the 7-6(4), 6-7(3), 6-4. Check out the full recap here.

Stan Wawrinka leans into a forehand. Photo: Lintao Zhang/Getty Images
Stan Wawrinka leans into a forehand. Photo: Lintao Zhang/Getty Images

Stockholm champion Juan Martin del Potro avenged his early loss in Shanghai to David Goffin by dealing a major blow to Goffin’s hopes of qualifying for the ATP World Tour Finals, beating the Belgian in a blockbuster second round match. For most of the match, there was very little between the two men and Goffin’s tenacity countered out del Potro’s power. But the fifth seed was sloppy in key moments, as a bad service game cost him the opening set. It was the same as one bad game surrendered a break early in the second and that would be enough for the Argentine, who rode his big serve to a 7-5, 6-3 win.

It was a mixed day for last week’s champions, as Moscow champion Pablo Carreno Busta was ousted by fourth seed Marin Cilic in straight sets. The Croatian raced through the opening set, only losing five points in the entire set. Carreno Busta rallied in the second, matching Cilic shot for shot. Each man held a pair of break points in the frame, but neither converted. That included Carreno Busta saving a match point on his serving at 4-5. The Spaniard seemed in control of the tiebreak when he took a 4-0 lead, but completely collapsed as Cilic reeled off seven straight points to wrap up the breaker and the match 6-0, 7-6(4).

In the quarterfinals, Cilic will take on Marcel Granollers, who upset eighth seed Jack Sock in a thorough beatdown. The Spaniard cruised past his doubles partner for this week with the loss of a mere four games. Sock surrendered the lone break of what was a tight opening set, but after the American held to start the second, momentum swung fully to Granollers. The Spaniard won six straight games take the second set and the match in a mere 57 minutes.

Marin Cilic crushes a forehand. Photo: Lintao Zhang/Getty Images
Marin Cilic crushes a forehand. Photo: Lintao Zhang/Getty Images

In other action, Gilles Muller booked his quarterfinal spot with a straight sets win over the erratic Florian Mayer of Germany. Muller did not face a break point in the match, while scoring three breaks of the sometimes-powerful Mayer serve. He will play Frederico Delbonis in the last eight.  Mischa Zverev’s recent good run of form continued into Basel, as he advanced to the quarterfinals with a straight sets win over Guido Pella.

The quarterfinals will be contested tomorrow. Wawrinka will play Zverev, Cilic will challenge Granollers, del Potro will duel with Nishikori, and Delbonis will take on Muller. 

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About the author
Pete Borkowski
Tennis has always been my obsession. What better way to channel that obsession than writing about it? After 18 months of blogging with Sportsblog.com as the writer of A Fan Obsesseds blog, all the while completing my Bachelors in history and French, I joined VAVEL so that I can better share my love and knowledge of tennis with the world.