RIO DE JANEIRO, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Argentine fourth seed Francisco Cerundolo recovered from a set down against Italy's Luciano Darderi to reach the quarterfinals of the ATP 500 Rio Open on Thursday.
Cerundolo won 83 percent of his first-serve points in the round-of-16 duel to prevail 6-7 (1), 6-3, 6-2 on the outdoor clay of the Jockey Club Brasileiro.
He will meet Alexandre Muller in the next round after the Frenchman beat Argentina's Tomas Martin Etcheverry 7-5, 7-6 (5) earlier in the day.
"It's super humid which made it difficult and I didn't start well," Cerundolo told reporters. "But I lifted my game in the last two sets. I tried to play more aggressively to reduce the length of the rallies and conserve my energy. Thankfully the strategy paid off."
World No. 60 Muller won 79 percent of points on his first serve and saved five of seven break points to overcome eighth-seeded Etcheverry in two hours and eight minutes.
"It was a great battle. I'm exhausted but I want to thank everyone who came here to support me," Muller said.
Others progressing to the last eight on Thursday are Argentina's Camilo Ugo Carabelli, who defeated Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia and Herzegovina 6-4, 6-4, and Portugal's Jaime Faria, who beat Spain's Jaume Munar 6-4, 2-6, 6-3. ■
