Joao Sousa survived three match points against Denis Istomin to book his place in the quarter-finals of the Swiss Open in Gstaad.
Sixth seed Sousa converted four of the eight break points he fashioned to get past Istomin 6-7 (6/8) 6-3 7-6 (7/4) after two hours and 33 minutes of battle.
There is no respite for the Portuguese world number 43, though, as he will now face top seed David Goffin to fight for a place in the last four.
By contrast, Goffin booked his place in the quarters with a routine 6-1 6-1 win over qualifier Horacio Zeballos and he was understandably pleased with his display.
"I started the match really well, I was really aggressive, and my serve was also good," Goffin said on the ATP Tour website. "It was a really good match."
Dominic Thiem and Pablo Carreno Busta will also go head-to-head in the last eight after they came through their respective second round matches on Thursday.
Third seed Thiem, who clinched only his second ATP World Tour title on Sunday in Umag, beat Federico Delbonis 6-3 6-4.
Busta had to work harder for his place in the next round, with Robin Haase's first serve proving troublesome, but he eventually won out 7-6 (7/3) 6-4.
Source: PA
