Withdrawal sees Anderson into quarters in Vienna

Cape Town - Second seed Kevin Anderson has advancedto the quarter-finals of the Vienna Open after his opponent Jurgen Melzer withdrew from their Round of 16 encounter on Wednesday.

The tournament's official Twitter account confirmed that the game had been cancelled after the Austrian experienced some "health problems".

On Monday, the South African defeated big-hitting Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili 4-6, 7-6 (8/6), 6-3 in his first-round match.

He will now face sixth-seeded Croatian Borna Coric for a place in the semi-finals.

READ: SA tennis ace qualifies for year-end ATP Finals

Anderson is trying to make his debut at the prestigious ATP Tour Finals to be held in London between November 11 and 18.

The tall South African is in seventh place in the ATP Race To London, with 3 765 points, 105 behind sixth-placed Croatia's Marin Cilic (3 870).

The top eight in the race on November 5 will qualify for the year-end showpiece.

Results from the ATP tournament in Vienna on Wednesday (x denotes seeding):

Second round

Marton Fucsovics (HUN) bt Fabio Fognini (ITA x7) 4-6, 6-3, 6-2

Kevin Anderson (RSA x2) bt Jurgen Melzer (AUT) walkover

Borna Coric (CRO x6) bt Lucas Pouille (FRA) 4-6, 6-0, 6-4

First round

Kyle Edmund (GBR x8) bt Diego Schwartzman (ARG) 6-3, 7-6 (7/3)

Gael Monfils (FRA) bt Steve Johnson (USA) 4-6, 6-3, 6-2

Karen Khachanov (RUS) bt Dennis Novak (AUT) 6-3, 7-5

Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) bt Grigor Dimitrov (BUL x3) 6-4, 4-6, 6-4

Breaking news: game Melzer against Anderson is cancelled because of health problems! #erstebankopen #atptour

— Erste Bank Open (@ErsteBankOpen) October 24, 2018

Jürgen #Melzer is on his way to the hospital. He can stand upright, but he's definitely in a horrible state. There will be a small ceremony for him on Sunday before the final, though. #ErsteBankOpen

— Lukas Zahrer (@ZaraLuk) October 24, 2018