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Ward stuns Schuettler in Eastbourne

James Ward is into the last-eight in Eastbourne after taking out Germany's Rainer Schuettler © Getty Images

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British No. 7 James Ward is through to the quarter-finals of the AEGON International at Eastbourne after toppling Germany's Rainer Schuettler in straight sets.

The 23-year-old looked full of confidence following his first-round win over second seed Feliciano Lopez and sealed his progress with a hugely impressive 6-3 7-6(5) win.

Ward dropped just five points on serve in the first set as he grabbed the advantage with a break in the third game to move ahead. The Londoner, who spent six months of last season sidelined with glandular fever, maintained his level in the second as he reeled off a string of service games in comfortable fashion. Schuettler applied pressure at 30-30 in the seventh game but Ward confidently fought off the danger with a pair of forehand winners.

That would be the closest the German would get to gaining a break as Ward continued to serve solidly and moved to within one game of taking the match with two beautifully-timed backhand volleys.

Schuettler managed to hold the Englishman at bay as he staved off three match points in the 12th game of the second set but he could do little to prevent the world No. 342 from sealing another great win in the consequent tiebreak, as Ward sealed his place in the last-eight by converting his sixth match point.

"It's probably the second best result of my life to the one I had yesterday," Ward said after the match. "Lopez is obviously ranked a bit higher but Rainer has been up to No. 5 in the world before and has been around for years so it is a great win.

"I love it out here and I'm really looking forward to playing again tomorrow."

Ward will face Alexandr Dolgopolov in the last-eight after the Ukrainian overcame Yen-Hsun Lu in three sets. Dolgopolov struggled to breakdown his opponent's serve in the first set and capitulated in a tiebreak to slip behind. However, an early break in the second set put the No. 7 seed on his way and four further breaks set seal on a 6-7(1) 6-1 6-2 triumph.

It was a good day for France at Eastbourne as Julien Benneteau, Michael Llodra and Gilles Simon all made it through. Benneteau, the No. 4 seed for the event, maintained his 100% career record against Dudi Sela as he completed a 7-6(8) 7-5 win, while Llodra fired 14 aces as he progressed with a 6-1 6-7(2) 6-4 victory over Stephane Robert. Simon was also pushed to three sets as he knocked out Andrey Kuznetsov 6-1 6-7(3) 7-6(2).

No. 1 seed Dennis Istomin was on court for less than an hour as he moved past Spain's Nicolas Almagro, who retired with an injury after losing the first set.

At the Unicef Open, Peter Luczak upset No. 2 seed Marcos Baghdatis 7-5 6-1 to set up a quarter-final clash with Janko Tipsarevic, who came from a set down to eliminate Arnaud Clement 3-6 6-1 6-3.

No. 4 seed Viktor Troicki also dropped out of the tournament as he slipped to a 6-4 6-4 defeat against Colombia's Santiago Giraldo. Sergiy Stakhovsky will be Giraldo's next opponent after he overcame Igor Sijsling.

Third seed Simon Greul suffered few problems as he dismantled Tommy Robredo in just over an hour to progress with a 6-1 6-4 win, while fellow German Benjamin Becker also made it through by beating Henri Kontinen 6-2 6-1.

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