Juan Martin del Potro standing tall, but Marin Cilic bows out

Tennis News
Juan Martin del Potro celebrates

Juan Martin del Potro came through a tough match against David Ferrer at Indian Wells, but Marin Cilic was knocked out.

The sixth seed from Argentina made it five wins in a row against veteran Ferrer as he won 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) to reach the fourth round.

Del Potro squandered 10 break-point opportunities in the first set before it was a case of 11th time lucky as he edged ahead 4-3 before closing out the set in 10th game. He then held firm in the second-set tie-breaker.

Next up is his compatriot Leonardo Mayer, who beat Japanese qualifier Taro Daniel 6-4, 6-1.

His path to a possible title is looking good after several seeds, including Novak Djokovic and Dominic Thiem, were knocked out.

“I’m not thinking about that. I just want to keep winning,” he said. “It’s good for me to feel this confidence when I get to the court and I play well, but I’m going step by step.

“I will play another Argentinian guy tomorrow, which is a special match for both. It’s not easy when you play against a friend.”

Marin Cilic is another seed who crashed out as the second-ranked Croat went down 6-4, 6-4 against Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber.

Kohlschreiber faces the unseeded Pierre-Hugues Herbert for a place in the quarter-final after the Frenchman advanced when his compatriot Gael Monfils retired with a back injury.

“Very happy,” the German said. “I think my performance worked quite well from the start. I felt like Marin was maybe a bit nervous. I felt good. Played aggressive.”

Feliciano Lopez also caused an upset as he beat 2017 semi-finalist Jack Sock 7-6 (8-6), 4-6, 6-4.

Milos Raonic claimed his fourth-consecutive win over Joao Sousa as he overcame a second-set slump to win 7-5, 4-6, 6-2.

Next up for the Canadian is Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis, who beat Dudi Sela of Israel 7-6 (7-5), 6-4.

ATP Tour Juan Martin del Potro Marin Cilic Milos Raonic News Philipp Kohlschreiber

Latest