Garcia-Lopez into Hassan II quarters

Marrakech - Top-seeded Guillermo Garcia-Lopez reached the Grand Prix Hassan II quarter-finals after rallying to beat Spanish countryman Nicolas Almagro 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Thursday.

Almagro broke twice in the first set, but Garcia-Lopez took the only break of the second to level. Although Almagro had six aces in the decider, he was broken again and could not force a chance on Garcia-Lopez's serve.

Garcia-Lopez next faces eighth-seeded Jiri Vesely of the Czech Republic, who fired 15 aces as he beat Croatian qualifier Nikola Mektic 6-7 (4), 6-3, 7-6 (5) in a match lasting three hours.

Meanwhile, No. 7 Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain had seven aces and did not face a break point against Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan in a 6-3, 7-6 (5) win.