Del Potro advances, Lu topples Baghdatis

LOS ANGELES: Second-seeded Juan Martin del Potro battled past James Blake 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) Wednesday at the ATP Los Angeles hardcourt tournament as third-seeded Marcos Baghdatis was sent packing.

Argentina's Del Potro, on the comeback trail after a wrist injury cut short his 2010 season, booked a quarter-final clash with Latvia's Ernests Gulbis.

Baghdatis, however, was bundled out by Taiwan's Lu Yen-Hsun, who defeated the Cypriot 6-3, 6-4 to set up a quarter-final clash with American Ryan Harrison.

Both del Potro and Baghdatis enjoyed first-round byes, as did top-seeded Mardy Fish and fourth-seeded Thomaz Bellucci.

Fish will open his campaign on Thursday against Luxembourg's Gilles Muller while Bellucci faces Colombian Alejandro Falla in a second-round contest.

After pocketing the first set, del Potro gained the edge in the second when he broke Blake in the third game.

However, the American broke back in the next game and they stayed on serve to the tiebreaker.

Del Potro got off to a quick start in the decider, taking a 3-1 lead and giving himself a 6-2 lead with a forehand winner.

Del Potro next faces Gulbis, a 6-2, 6-4 winner over American Daniel Kosakowski.

Lu looked sharp against Baghdatis, needing just one hour and 13 minutes to notch the victory.

After racing through the first set, Lu broke Baghdatis in the opening game of the second. Baghdatis never made any inroads, failing to force even one break chance.

After Lu gave himself two match points with a forehand down the line, Baghdatis saved one with a forehand passing winner before sailing a backhand long.

Lu, 27 and ranked 76th in the world, has now matched his best performance of the season after reaching the quarter-finals last week in Atlanta.

He next faces 19-year-old American Harrison, who defeated Michael Russell 6-3, 6-4.