France’s Gael Monfils started his Rotterdam Open title defence with a convincing 6-3 6-2 victory over Portugal’s Joao Sousa yesterday to move into the last 16.
Having won the Open Sud de France in Montpellier last week, Monfils needed only 70 minutes to dispatch his Portuguese opponent, firing five aces and converting four break points.
The 33-year-old Frenchman, who is looking to become the first player to win back-to-back Rotterdam titles since Sweden’s Robin Soderling in 2011, next faces compatriot Gilles Simon who beat Mikhail Kukushkin 7-6(3) 3-6 6-3. 
“It’s never easy to come back after a win,” Monfils said. “But I have great memories from last year.”
In an all-Spanish showdown, Pablo Carreno Busta beat sixth seed Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4 2-6 7-6(4) to qualify for the quarter-finals after a battle lasting nearly two-and-a-half hours.
Carreno Busta fired 11 aces and saved seven break points to advance at his higher-ranked compatriot’s expense.
Belgian fourth seed David Goffin battled back from a set down and saved two break points in the decider to beat local hope Robin Haase 3-6 7-6(5) 6-4.
Goffin will face Italian Jannik Sinner, who was awarded a walkover after his opponent Radu Albot withdrew.
On Tuesday, second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas clawed his way back from a set and a break down to beat Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz 6-7(2) 6-3 6-1 and reach the last-16.
Canadian teenager Felix Auger-Aliassime outlasted Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff to win 6-3 1-6 6-3 and advance, while Italy’s Fabio Fognini was upset 6-3 6-3 by Russia’s Karen Khachanov. Tsitsipas reacted well to going 2-0 down in the second set, fighting back strongly to beat Hurkacz, who was celebrating his 23rd birthday. 
The Greek big-hitter, who was knocked out in the third round of the Australian Open, has now beaten Hurkacz five times out of six, although this was another close encounter between the pair.
Tsitsipas needed a medical timeout to deal with a shoulder problem after making unforced errors in a poor tiebreak, and Hurkacz quickly stole a march in the second set before Tsitsipas launched his comeback.
The world number six broke to go 3-2 up and went on to take the set in 46 minutes, before dominating in the decisive third.
Auger-Aliassime, 19, who had his breakthrough season last year when he climbed up to 17th in the rankings, nearly threw it away in the second set against Struff when he lost five games in a row before he regained his composure in the final set.
“It was really tough, there was so many emotions running through my head,” Auger-Aliassime, now ranked 21, told the ATP website. 
“I felt I had chances in the first game of the second set... and so many chances to make the break.
“It was really frustrating. It led me to lose focus in the second set and get broken twice, which isn’t ideal for me or normal. In the third set, it was about forgetting and moving forward.”
The Canadian served seven double faults but also fired 16 aces in the contest and set up a match with Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov, who eliminated Denis Shapovalov on Monday. 
On the other side of the draw Fognini was ousted by Khachanov.
Fognini lost his focus following an argument with the umpire over a call in the second set and the Italian also asked for the trainer’s help in strapping up his leg below the knee.
Khachanov sailed through the second set with two breaks of serve and Fognini’s unforced error count of 36 only made things easier for the Russian.