-Delray Beach Fla
Juan Martin Del Potro moved into the Quarter Finals in Delray Beach with a convincing 6-4 6-4 win over American Reilly Opelka. It was an impressive win for the World No. 4 in just his second match since coming back from a four month hiatus with a fractured kneecap.
Del Potro never faced a break point and had an impressive 78-percent first serve percentage. His forehand was sharp, he overcame 18 aces off Opelka’s racquet and converted the only two break point chances he had. The first coming in the third game of the first set, the second in the ninth game of the second. The win more impressive as Opelka had won six matches in a row and on Sunday won his first career ATP title in New York.
Despite the match being played in the United States and even with Opelka now living in the city of Delray Beach, the crowd was heavily behind Del Potro. The 30-year old from Argentina is a huge draw in Florida with a large Latin American population.
“I’m happy to win two matches in a row,” said the 2011 Delray Beach champ. “It’s amazing to me to be playing in front of this crowd, I love to play this tournament, it is very special to me.”
Even though the No. 1 seed has won both of his matches in straight sets, there is still some doubt as to whether or not he would be healthy enough to play in Friday’s Quarter-Final against another American Mackenzie McDonald. Del Potro hinted that the knee is still bothering him and with points to defend from tournaments he won last year in both Acapulco and Indian Wells, you could sense there was some concern from him after Thursday night’s win
“It’s going to be a challenge for me to see how my body is tomorrow. If I am not feeling in good shape (Friday morning), maybe I have to make a smart decision because my season just started. We will see tomorrow morning. It’s an hour by hour decision.”
McDonald reached the final eight with a 7-5, 6-4 win over Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. The two other Quarter-Finals on Friday will see Andreas Seppi, who turned 35 on Thursday taking on qualifier Dan Evans while hard hitting second seed John Isner will face Adrian Mannarino.
@Sportshorn