Bemelmans ousts No. 3 Kyrgios in European Open

[October 19, 2017]    The Sports Xchange

Belgium's Ruben Bemelmans posted the upset of the day at the European Open in Antwerp, Belgium, with a 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-3 win over third-seeded Australian Nick Kyrgios.

Bemelmans overcame 18 aces from Kyrgios and finished the match in one hour, 47 minutes to set up a quarterfinal match against Portugal's Joao Sousa.

Sousa, who fought off seventh-seeded Frenchman Benoit Paire in three sets in the first round, needed three sets again to knock off Ukraine's Sergiy Stakhovsky 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.

Bemelmans won the only previous meeting with Sousa.

France's Julien Benneteau had a much easier time advancing to the quarters with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Switzerland's Henri Laaksonen. Benneteau needed just 57 minutes to finish off the win and set up a possible meeting with countryman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who faces another Frenchman, Kenny De Schepper, in his second-round match.

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