Frenchman Gael Monfils defeated Czech Radek Stepanek 6-4 6-3 at the Austrian Open today to set up a quarter-final clash with second seed Fernando Gonzalez, while third seed Juan Martin Del Potro was forced to withdraw with a foot injury.
Eighth-seeded Monfils produced an athletic performance and always looked the better player against an opponent that was persistent but prone to error, especially off his forehand.
Although Stepanek earned the first break to lead 4-2, Monfils immediately broke back and then broke again to lead 5-4 when Stepanek sent a forehand long.
Monfils then made a perfect start to the second set, earning break point with a lob and then breaking when Stepanek made another forehand error.
Although Monfils faced two break points when leading 3-2 he held off the challenge, and then broke again for the match when Stepanek netted a backhand volley.
"I think today I played very solid," said Monfils. "I'm very happy because I had good focus during all the match. Radek is a tough player and I think my tactic today was very good.
"I tried to keep him very far on his baseline because he can be very dangerous inside the court."
Feliciano Lopez of Spain reached his fifth consecutive Vienna quarter-final with a 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 win over Colombia's Santiago Giraldo, recovering from 3-5 in the tiebreak before easing through the second set.
In the last of the second round matches, Austria's Jurgen Melzer defeated Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain 7-6 (7-4) 6-3. Del Potro's hopes for qualifying for the Masters Cup were dealt a blow when an injury to his right toe forced the 20-year old from Argentina to pull out of the tournament.
The problem, a split toenail similar to the problem that recently bothered Jelena Jankovic in Stuttgart, began at the US Open, and he aggravated the injury during his quarter-final win over David Ferrer last week.
The nail then broke completely during his first round win over Austria's Martin Fischer on Wednesday. He also has a bruise on the big toe of his left foot.
His win against Fischer lifted him above James Blake into eighth position in the Race to the Masters Cup, but at the beginning of this week less than 100 points separated Blake and 22nd-placed Radek Stepanek.
Only the top eight players will compete in Shanghai between November 9 and 16.
There are just three weeks of the regular season to play, and Del Potro hopes that he will be fit to contest the Masters events in Madrid and Paris in a bid to solidify his position.
Del Potro has been told to rest the foot for the next few days, and he will now travel to Madrid for treatment in a bid to play there next week.
