CHENNAI, India(AP) Defending champion Marin Cilic rallied to defeat Marcel Granollers of Spain 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-4 Wednesday to advance to the quarterfinals of the Chennai Open.

The match lasted nearly 3 hours.

He was going on the offensive from the beginning, coming up with some brilliant shots,'' Cilic said.I found it really difficult to match him.''

Cilic will face Santiago Giraldo of Columbia.

Fourth-seeded Janko Tipsarevic defeated Somdev Devvarman of India 6-2, 6-1.

In other matches, Giraldo defeated Jan Hajek of the Czech Republic 6-4, 6-2, while Thiemo de Bakker of the Netherlands stopped Robin Haase 6-3, 6-4.