Olympic champion Alexander Zverev of Germany reached the quarter-finals of the ATP tournament in Halle with a win against Italy's Lorenzo Sonego on Wednesday.
Zverev claimed a 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) win and will on Friday face Frenchman Arthur Fils, who eliminated Zverev's countryman Dominik Koepfer (6-3, 6-4).
Zverev was scheduled to play at the same time as Germany at the Euro 2024. The national team reached the last 16 after defeating Hungary 2-0.
"I don't think it was smart of the tournament to be honest. If I weren't playing, I wouldn't be watching a tennis match, I'd be watching football," he said.
Jan-Lennard Struff, another home hope, needed 10 match points to reach the last 16 at the Halle ATP grass tournament on Wednesday.
The 34-year-old beat Italian Luciano Darderi 6-7 (2-7), 7-5, 7-6 (12-10) after two and a half hours. He will now play Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas on Thursday, who eliminated Henri Squire in the first round on Tuesday.
The German number two had to withdraw from last week's tournament in Stuttgart due to a stomach bug. The after-effects were still clearly noticeable against Darderi.
Struff even had to fend off a match point before eventually prevailing.
"I've had a tough few days, the preparation wasn't so easy. I hope I can recover well and then play a good match against Tsitsipas," he said.