Umag, Croatia, Jul 29 : Potito Starace of Italy upset top-seeded Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 to reach the quarterfinals at the Croatia Open on Thursday.
Starace, last year's finalist, trailed 3-0 in the third set after being broken twice but fought back.
Also in the second round, Marin Cilic rallied to beat Robin Haase of the Netherlands 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. The fourth-seeded Croat had to work hard, saving seven out of nine break points in over two hours.
“I was aware that I was the last remaining Croatian player in the draw, but there was no pressure,” Cilic said. “There was something else, a kind of a weird feeling to play my first match on Thursday. Haase had advantage because of that ... Perhaps that's why I did not start well enough, but as soon as I found my rhythm things went much better.”
Cilic will face Andreas Seppi of Italy, who defeated Diego Junqueira of Argentina 7-5, 6-1. Another Italian, Fabio Fognini, also advanced by defeating Olivier Rochus from Belgium 6-4, 6-1. AP
