Umag, Croatia – Croatian favorite Marin Cilic was an easy second-round winner Wednesday at the Croatia Open tennis event.
The second seed blew past German Daniel Brands 6-3, 6-2 on the red clay at ATP Stadium. Cilic was last year's runner-up here to Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov.
Meanwhile, fourth-seeded Spaniard Marcel Granollers held off Italian Potito Starace, the 2010 Umag runner-up, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.
A mild Day-3 upset came when German Matthias Bachinger drove out seventh- seeded Slovak Martin Klizan 6-0, 2-6, 6-4. Bachinger will face Granollers in Friday's quarterfinals.
One other Day-3 second-rounder saw American Wayne Odesnik outlast Slovenian Blaz Kavcic 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7-3). Odesnik is rewarded with a quarterfinal meeting against Cilic.
On Thursday, top-seeded 2008 titlist Fernando Verdasco of Spain will meet talented Latvian Ernests Gulbis and the third-seeded reigning champion Dolgopolov will battle Italian Fabio Fognini.
Fox News First
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox.
By entering your email and clicking the Subscribe button, you agree to the Fox News Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and agree to receive content and promotional communications from Fox News. You understand that you can opt-out at any time.