Valladolid: The top ranked pairings advance

The first four encounters of the last 16 were played today at Valladolid's spectacular Plaza Mayor under intense heat.

The first pairing to book their tickets for the next round were Gaby Reca and Juan Lebron, who needed less than an hour to knock out Gonzalo Rubio and Javi Ruiz.

The winners of the Barcelona Challenger lost their serve in the first game of the match and it was an uphill struggle from then on for a pairing that has continuously improved from one tournament to another.

Reca and Lebron grabbed two breaks in the first set and another in the eighth game of the second set to seal the match 6-3, 6-3 and they now await Paquito Navarro and Sanyo Gutierrez in the last 16.

Next on court were Uri Botello and Adrian Blanco, who needed three sets to eliminate Francisco Gomes and Javier Escalante (6-3, 4-6, 6-4). Their next opponents are number 1 pairing, Fernando Belasteguin and Pablo Lima.

Díaz-Gutiérrez show no mercy

Juan Martin Diaz and Cristian Gutierrez needed just 44 minutes to win against Raul Marcos and Raul Diaz by 6-3, 6-0.

The number 5 pairing gave few options to the Madrid duo and the best news is that Cristian Gutierrez was back to full fitness after recovering from the injury he sustained in the final of the Mallorca Open.

Vazquez-Yribarren's never-ending match

After three tiebreaks and 170 minutes under the sun, Borja Yribarren and Juan Manuel Vazquez took the win against Diego Ramos and Javier Concepcion 7-6, 6-7, 7-6

The four exhausted players were treated to a standing ovation after leaving the court but with very different sensations. The match could have gone either way and was decided at 15-13 in the deciding tiebreak. Ramos and Concepcion were left frustrated after bidding farewell as a pairing in this fashion, whereas Guga and Borja were smiling from ear to ear after their spectacular win.