Feliciano Lopez has become the oldest man to reach an ATP Tour quarter-final in 28 years following a fighting victory over Australia's Jordan Thompson at the Mallorca Championships in Spain.
Playing in the final tournament of his career, the 41-year-old Spaniard outlasted Thompson 7-6 (8-6) 1-6 6-3 in a match lasting two hours and six minutes.
It was Lopez's second-straight win over an Australian, having seen off Max Purcell in the opening round of the grass-court event.
Not since US great Jimmy Connors reached the last eight at Halle as a 42-year-old in 1995 has anyone older than Lopez progressed this far in an ATP Tour event.
Lopez's next opponent with be Germany's Yannick Hanfmann, who defeated top seed and defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4 3-6 6-2.
“A lot of things have to work to beat a top-10 player,” said Hanfmann after his win against the Greek world No.5.
“I had a really good start. Maybe Stefanos was a little bit rusty in the conditions.
"With the wind and the grass it was not that easy, so maybe having a match already on the first day was really important."
Christopher Eubanks won his all-American second-round encounter against 2023 Australian Open quarter-finalist Ben Shelton 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 7-6 (7-2), while lucky loser Arthur Rinderknech downed fellow Frenchman Constant Lestienne 6-3 6-2.
