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An in-form Chilean Cristian Garin has won the tenth straight match on his debut in front of the home fans in Santiago, beating Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-2, 0-6, 7-6 in two hours. Cordoba and Rio de Janeiro champion had to dig deep in the decider to topple the young Spaniard, wasting a 5-3 and 6-5 advantage before moving over the top in the tie break to reach the quarters.
Thanks to that dominant second set, Davidovich Fokina won two points more than Garin, delivering six breaks from 13 opportunities, hitting 11 double faults and suffering six breaks from seven chances offered to Cristian to finish on the losing side.
The Chilean kicked off the action with three straight breaks, controlling the pace and bringing the opener home with a hold at love after an ace in game eight. The hard-hitting Spaniard bounced back in set number two, having the upper hand on both serve and return to secure a bagel and gain massive boost ahead of the decider.
There, home favorite saved two break chances with winners at 2-3 and broke at 15 in the next game to open a 4-3 gap and take a big step towards the finish line. Serving at 5-4, Garin wasted two match points, with Alejandro breaking back after a perfect drop shot to level the score at 5-5.
Cristian earned another break in the next game following a double fault from the Spaniard who refused to surrender, breaking back in game 12 to reach a tie break that Garin won 7-4 with a forehand winner to finally finish the job and make a winning start.
The 19-year-old Thiago Seyboth Wild will compete in the first ATP quarter-final, beating the 5th seed Juan Ignacio Londero 7-6, 6-4 in an hour and 45 minutes. The young Brazilian dropped 18 points in 11 service games, never facing a break point and stealing Londero's serve once from six opportunities to seal the deal in straight sets after a tight and entertaining battle.
Seyboth Wild had only one tough service game at 2-2 in the opener, standing strong in the other ten and mounting the pressure on Londero all the time. The Argentine fended off all three break chances in the opener, including two set points at 5-6 that he erased to set up a tie break, creating a set point there with a service winner.
Thiago saved it with an ace before losing the next point on serve, offering the second set point to Juan Ignacio who failed to convert it, spraying a forehand error at 7-7 and losing the set after a backhand down the line winner from the Brazilian.
Seyboth Wild dropped six points in five service games of set number two, securing a break in the third game with a powerful forehand down the line stroke and moving over the top with a service winner in game ten for the career-best result.
The 8th seed Thiago Monteiro defeated Roberto Carballes Baena 6-1, 6-4 in an hour and 23 minutes, repelling all three break chances and stealing the opponent's serve thrice to control the scoreboard for the second quarter-final of the season after Buenos Aires.
The 3rd seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas ousted a lucky loser Juan Pablo Varillas 7-6, 6-2 in an hour and 38 minutes, coming back from 5-3 down in the opener and saving a set point at 4-5 to gain boost and momentum, taking the opener in the tie break and never looking back to find himself in the last eight.