RIO DE JANEIRO — Fifth-seeded Joao Sousa was eliminated from the Rio Open on Thursday, adding to the list of favorites knocked out of the clay-court tournament in the early stages.
Norwegian Casper Ruud topped Portugal’s Sousa 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 in the round of 16.
Top seeds Dominic Thiem of Austria, Fabio Fognini and Marco Cecchinato of Italy, and Diego Schwartzman of Argentina already were ousted.
In the quarterfinals, Ruud will face Serbia’s Laslo Dere, who eliminated Japan’s Taro Daniel 6-4, 6-2.
2016 Rio Open champion Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay advanced after beating Argentina’s Juan Ignacio Londero 6-1, 6-4.
Cuevas will face Spain’s Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the quarterfinals. Ramos-Vinolas defeated Argentina’s Federico Delbonis 3-6, 7-5, 6-3.
This article was originally published by Espn.com. Read the original article here.