by Ian Marshall, ITTF Publications Editor
Eric Jouti, the no.4 seed, was beaten by Argentina’s Horacio Cifuentes, the no.13 seed (11-6, 11-7, 5-11, 11-6, 11-7); Marcelo Aguirre suffered at the hands of Cuba’s Jorge Campos (5-11, 11-6, 6-11, 111-8, 11-8, 11-8).
Otherwise, in addition to Hugo Calderano who beat Argentina’s Gaston Alto, the no.10 seed (11-8, 11-8, 11-5, 11-7) and Thiago Monteiro who accounted for Pablo Tabachnik, the no.14 seed and also from Argentina (11-7, 7-11, 12-10, 11-8, 11-7), the leading names achieved their goal for the day.
Mexico’s Marcos Madrid, the no.3 seed, was in determined mood. He caused Brazil more anguish by beating Vitor Ishiy, the no.9 seed (11-3, 11-7, 9-11, 11-7, 11-8).
Similarly, Cuba’s Andy Pereira, the no.5 seed, overcame Ecuadorian qualifier Adrian Cabrera (11-4, 11-6, 11-8, 11-6), a player very much in form; one round earlier the young man from Guayaquil had caused a major upset by beating Chile’s Gustavo Gomez, the no.12 seed and winner earlier in the year of the Men’s Singles event at the Ibero-American Championships in Madrid. Adrian Cabrera maintained his focus to win in seven games (13-11, 7-11, 11-2, 8-11, 6-11, 11-9, 11-9).
Defeat for Ecuador but there was success; Alberto Miño, the no.6 seed, overcame Argentine qualifier Martin Bentancor (4-11, 11-4, 11-7, 11-8, 10-12, 10-12, 11-7), like Adrian Cabrera a player in form; one round earlier he had upset the pecking order by inflicting more pain on Chile by defeating Juan Lamadrid, the no.15 seed (13-11, 7-11, 11-2, 8-11, 6-11, 11-9, 11-9).
Disappointment for Chile but not for their leading player; in a dramatic full distance contest Felipe Olivares, the no.8 seed, ended the hopes of Paraguay’s Alejandro Toranzos by the very narrowest of decisions (11-5, 2-11, 11-4, 6-11, 9-11, 11-7, 12-10).
At the quarter-final stage Hugo Calderano meets Jorge Campos, Felipe Olivares faces Horacio Cifuentes; in the opposite half of the draw Marcos Madrid plays Alberto Miño, Thiago Monteiro confronts Andy Oereira.
The Men’s Singles event will be played to a conclusion on Sunday 17th September,
