Musetti fights hard to reach Cagliari Challenger QFs, Coria upsets Tiafoe

Lorenzo Musetti overcame several obstacles en route to defeating Juan Manuel Cerundolo 7-6(4), 7-6(4) and securing his quarter-final spot at the ATP Challenger Tour 175 event in Cagliari, Italy.

The second seed failed to serve the match out on three occasions amidst windy conditions at the Sardegna Open, where rain stopped play briefly before the first-set tie-break. Despite letting slip his 5-2 lead in the second set, the Italian rebounded and downed the Argentine after two hours, 22 minutes.

“Today was not an easy match for sure but I knew that before walking on court. Especially with these tough conditions, the rain, the wind, not going on my side," Musetti said. "It was tougher to make the points and there were some moments where it was really complicated to hit a winner. Juan Manuel wasn’t making any mistakes.

"I think the main goal for me today was to take the win, no matter how I played and how I was on court. Even if I play [bad], I want to have more matches and more results and with that, I will keep growing and believing in myself.”

^{Lorenzo Musetti competes on Italian soil Thursday at the Cagliari Challenger. Credit: Mike Lawrence/ATP Tour}

Up next for the No. 29 in the PIF ATP Rankings is seventh seed Nuno Borges, who won the season's first ATP Challenger 175 tournament in Phoenix. The Portuguese player outlasted Yoshihito Nishioka 6-3, 6-7(3), 6-3 to advance Thursday.

In other Cagliari action, Federico Coria pulled the upset of the day, knocking out top seed Frances Tiafoe 6-1, 7-5. The Argentine struck the ball with height and depth to trouble the American from the back of the court and utilised his quick speed to track down several of Tiafoe’s drop shots.

American Emilio Nava earned his place in the quarters by ousting fifth seed Lorenzo Sonego 7-6(4), 6-4. Daniel Elahi Galan overcame fourth seed Christopher Eubanks 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 after breaking the 6’7” American’s serve eight times, according to Infosys ATP Stats. The Colombian next faces Marton Fucsovics, who defeated Zachary Svajda 6-3, 6-3.

Third seed Mariano Navone beat Japan's Shintaro Mochizuki 6-0, 4-6, 6-3 and eighth seed Luciano Darderi cruised past Argentine Camilo Ugo Carabelli 6-3, 6-0.

Aix-en-Provence Challenger
All of Thursday's play at the Open Aix Provence Credit Agricole in southern France was cancelled due to rain. Second seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry and Arthur Rinderknech kick off Friday’s action at 10 a.m. local time with Adrian Mannarino and Richard Gasquet’s all-French second-round match to follow.

Quarter-final matches at the Country Club Aixois will also be held Friday after players receive suitable rest.