Juan Martin Del Potro defeated Nicolas Almagro 6-4 6-3 at the Kangliga Tennishallen, the venue of the IF Stockolm ATP 250 Tournament.
The Argentine did not face any break points and won 76 percent of his first serve points throughout the second round encounter. Del Potro broke serve in the first and ninth games to take the first set. The “Tower from Tandil” got another break in the third game of the second set to cruise through to the quarter finals. Del Potro, who beat John Isner in the first round, scored his third win over Almagro in as many matches.
The Olympic silver medallist from Tandil will face second-seed Ivo Karlovic in the quarter finals.
25-year-old Portuguese player Gastao Elias upset top-seed Gael Monfils 7-6 (7-4) 6-1 to set up a quarter final match against Jack Sock. Elias saved all four break points he faced, including three consecutive threats in the fourth game of the opening set. Both players went on serve until the tie-break where the US player prevailed 7-4.
Elias strolled through the second set as he secured a double break to race to a 5-0 lead. He then earned his first two match points in the sixth game before Monfils hit a forehand down the line to save the first match point. The French favourite saved the second match point with a backhand volley winner to avoid the bagel. Missing out in two further chances to seal the match in the following game, Elias finally secured the win on his fifth attempt after firing a forehand winner down the line.
Yet to drop a set in the tournament, Elias celebrated the win by jumping into the air like Portuguese football star Cristiano Ronaldo.
“It’s the best match I have ever played. I knew I could play at this level and compete with the top guys and this is what I showed today. It’s difficult to play at this level every match, but this is what we practise for”, said Elias.
Sock endured a tougher route to the last eight after edging past Dustin Brown 7-6(7-5) 4-6 6-4. The American converted his second break point chance in the third game at deuce to take a 2-1 lead before Brown rallied from 30-40 to break back on his third opportunity to draw level to 4-4. Both players went on serve until the tie-break where Sock clinched it 7-5.
Failing to capitalise on his first set triumph, Sock came under a fierce attack from the German as he trailed 0-4 in the second set. The sixth seed did manage to claw his way back into the set and had a trio of opportunities to level at 5-5, but failed to convert as Brown held his nerve to force a decider. Despite the blip in the middle of the match, Sock managed to close the match out after breaking twice in the final set.
“I have spent a lot of time on court in my first two rounds, but that’s because everyone here is a good player. Dustin hit some crazy shots. At times it was frustrating, but we had some fun out there,” said Sock.
Grigor Dimitrov beat Jurgen Zopp 6-3 6-2 to set up a quarter final against Kevin Anderson in the quarter finals. The South African player beat Ryan Harrison 7-6(10-8) 6-4, after saving two set points in the first set to qualify for his sixth quarter final of the season. Dimitrov has won five of his six head-to-head matches against Anderson.
