Del Potro makes positive debut

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Del Potro makes positive debut

Second favorite Juan Martin Del Potro has speeded through the Los Angeles event quarter finals after ousting crowd favorite James Blake in two sets, 6-4, 7-6. The Argentine, winner of two titles this season in Estoril and Delray Beach, will next meet Latvian Ernests Gulbis.

The former US Open champion broke the American veteran twice and only conceded one break from Blake who dropped the first set at four. Del Potro fired six aces past his opponent, winning at the same time 68 percent of service points. He finished the game with five double faults though which could have cost him a third set, only to claim the breaker at three.

Said Del Potro: “I think I’m still a little far from the top-10 players. It’s a long road to get there. I was playing really well before I got here.” Blake had previously beaten Michael Berrer of Germany 6-2, 6-3, while the Argentine has been favored by a BYE in the opening term, being now three wins from a third season success. His next opponent Gulbis eased past another American Daniel Kosakowski, who was following a big win against compatriot Tim Smyczek.

Gulbis, who had previously stunned on of the main favorites, Xavier Malisse, broke Kosakowski three times and managed to save both opportunities coming from the American past whom he also fired eight aces. “On the court I didn’t really have someone to push me. We were working hard, spending a lot of hours on court. And then everything just starts to come back. It’s all basically about practice and confidence. That’s all there really is to it,” said the Latvian after the game.

Ryan Harrison and Yen Hsun Lu have also reached the quarter finals in Los Angeles after they grabbed similar two-set wins in the second term. The American beat Michael Russell 6-3, 6-4, whole his next opponent Lu applied the same treatment with Marcos Baghdatis to provide one of the biggest surprises of the week.

Harrison finished the game against his compatriot with a 63 first serve percentage and three breaks, winning at the same time 73 percent of service points. On the other side, Russell, who conceded seven aces and fired just one, had a 59 first serve percentage and a poor 27 return one, something which led to an easy defeat from Harrison who is now two wins from his best season performance.

Lu stunned the third favorite Marcos Baghdatis 6-3, 6-4 after breaking him twice out of three tries, finishing the game with a 55 first serve percentage and winning 73 percent of service points. Baghdatis, by contrast, who fired seven aces past the Taipei player, was unable to build a break point opportunity, conceding the victory in just over an hour.

Lu had previously defeated Robby Ginepri 6-4, 7-5, while the Cypriot had been favored by a BYE. On the same first half of the draw, top seed and this term’s Atlanta winner, Mardy Fish is to make his debut against Gilles Muller who has flown into the second term after overcoming a first set deficit against Steve Johnson of United States whom the Luxembourg player edged 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Muller broke his previous opponent twice, saving at the same time five break point chances from Johnson who also finished the game with a couple of breaks, both grabbed in the opener. Overall, Muller hit 16 aces past the American and conceded eight, going for a 60 first serve percentage. Johnson more points on his own service, namely 68 percent, compared to Muller’s 64 percent.

Ryan Sweeting and Igor Kunitsyn will also fight for a quarter final berth. The American beat Somdev Devvarman 6-4, 7-6 after breaking him six times. Devvarman who converted five of his nine break point chances, had a better first serve percentage and a return one, but despite that, he conceded the victory due to the poor break point managing.

Sweeting committed nine double faults, but that didn’t stop him stay in touch with the victory until the last bal. He is now ready to set his best season performance, but first he must pass tough Kunitsyn. The Russian follows a 6-4, 6-3 win against Chilean Fernando Gonzalez who conceded a straight-set victory to the eighth seeded for an early exit. Gonzalez hit eight aces, but failed to convert any of the five break point chances, allowing his opponent to power through to an easy win.

Kunitsyn broke his opponent three times and build 13 chances, winning at the same time 68 percent of service points. On the other side, Gonzalez had a 56 first serve percentage, a 32 return percentage and five double faults which cost him his first defeat in front of the world number 60.

On the second half of the table, Grigor Dimitrov has set his first meeting with the world number 64 Alex Bogomolov Jr. The Bulgarian beat Tommy Haas 6-3, 6-2 after breaking him seven times to prevail in just over an hour. Haas finished the game with a 50 first serve percentage, five double faults and a 46 return percentage, compared to his opponent who came up with a 59 return percentage, four aces and 11 break point opportunities. Dimitrov also won 54 percent of service points and 59 on return.

His next opponent Bogomolov overcame Greg Jones 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 after capturing six breaks from the unseed who finished the game with a poor 33 percent of return points. On contrast, the American won 67 percent of service points to clinch the victory in nearly two hours. The winner between Bogomolov and Dimitrov will meet either Thomaz Bellucci or Alejandro Falla of Colombia.

Los Angeles Prize Money and points:

Winner – $113,000 and 250 points ATP

Runner-up – $50,400 and 150 points ATP

Semi finalist – $32,200 and 90 points ATP

Quarter finalist – $18,350 and 45 points ATP

R16 – $10,800 and 20 points ATP

R32 – $6,410 and zero points

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