NICE, France — Eighth-seeded Alexander Zverev fought for more than 2 1/2 hours to beat Marcel Granollers and reach the quarterfinals of the Nice Open Wednesday.
Zverev, who lost to Granollers in three sets at the Monte Carlo Masters earlier this season, converted five of his seven break points in a 7-5, 6-7 (3), 6-2 win at the clay-court tournament, a traditional French Open warm-up.
"He's one of the best clay-court players, and he's been playing well," Zverev said of his Spanish opponent.
Zverev next plays second-seeded Gilles Simon, who defeated Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-4.
Andreas Seppi also advanced after saving 10 break points as he rallied past Paul-Henri Mathieu 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.
Seppi next plays top-seeded Dominic Thiem.
Top-seeded Vinci loses
Qualifier Kiki Bertens advanced to the quarterfinals of the clay-court tournament in Nuremberg by beating top-seeded Roberta Vinci 6-4, 7-6 (4) Wednesday.
Vinci was last year's runner-up at the tournament, which serves as a warm-up for the French Open. She led an exit of three other seeded players.
Fifth-seeded Sabine Lisicki had six double-faults and was also eliminated, losing to Varvara Lepchenko 6-2, 7-6 (5).
Irina Falconi beat sixth-seeded Misaki Doi 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, while Julia Goerges defeated eighth-seeded Yulia Putintseva 6-4, 6-2.
Nadal "not obsessed" by 10th French Open crown
Rafael Nadal insisted Wednesday that capturing a 10th French Open was not a personal obsession but the tournament where he has only lost twice since 2005 remains a personal favorite.
The 29-year-old Nadal is a nine-time champion at Roland Garros where he has a 70-2 record but his grip on the title was loosened in 2015 in the quarter-finals by world number one Novak Djokovic in the midst of his worst season in a decade.
"It's a special tournament for me and is always a highlight on the calendar but without obsession," the world No. 5 told Cadena Ser radio.
"The important thing is that I enjoy the tournament. I'm happy when I play, I feel competitive against everybody and that's what makes me happy."
World No. 5 Nadal will not be favorite for this year's French Open which gets underway Sunday but he remains a danger having won the clay-court titles at Monte Carlo and Barcelona this year.
