By Richard Pagliaro | Thursday, June 9, 2016

 

Juan Martin del Potro swept John Millman and 37-year-old qualifier Radek Stepanek toppled second-seeded Marin Cilic in Stuttgart.

Photo credit: Mercedes Cup

Arriving in Stuttgart for his first grass-court event in three years, Juan Martin del Potro continues his advance through the field powered by a simple approach.

A heavy first strike and jolting dose of pure pace carried the 2009 US Open champion into the Mercedes Cup quarterfinals with a 6-4, 6-4, sweep of John Millman.

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"If you serve well and hit harder on grass you have a chance to win," del Potro told Barbara Schett-Eagle afterward. "And I think I'm trying to take my opportunities to do well on grass after three years."

Fast and flat works well on grass, so does slice and subtlety.

Radek Stepanek carved up the court surprising second-seeded Marin Cilic, 7-6 (4), 7-5 in one hour, 42 minutes.

The 37-year-old Czech qualifier won 21 of 23 points played on his serve in the second set when he denied the only break point he faced. Stepanek has now won three of four meetings with the 2014 US Open champion; this was their first clash since the 2009 Basel quarterfinals.

The 129th-ranked Stepanek also qualified at Roland Garros where he showed his all-court skills pushing world No. 2 Andy Murray to five sets.

A highly-skilled doubles player who has soft hands and is comfortable around net, Stepanek says his versatility, and willingness to take pace off the ball, makes him one of the last of an old-school breed on the ATP Tour.

"I play with a little creativity change the rhythm a bit," Stepanek said. "There are not many of us left like this in tennis so I hope people will enjoy this and I hope I will keep going."

Next up for Stepanek is seventh-seeded home favorite Philipp Kohlschreiber. Stepanek has won six of seven meetings with Kohlschreiber, including a straight-sets win on grass at the 2013 Eastbourne.

"I played him a few times over the years, obviously he plays well in Germany in front of the home crowd," Stepanek said. "I will try to make the crowd upset a little more."

The 27-year-old del Potro is playing to reach his first grass-court semifinal since the 2013 Wimbledon where he made it to the final four before bowing to Novak Djokovic.

The former world No. 4 withdrew from Roland Garros last month nursing his surgically-repaired left wrist. Del Potro says pain persists in the wrist, which can cause some frustration when he tries to crank up the pace of his two-handed backhand.

"I had to be patient; sometimes I get frustrated because I miss backhands," del Potro said. "This is not unusual for me because I want to hit my backhand as hard as my forehand. This is my pain from the wrist I have to deal with and in the end I played better (as the match progressed)."

Serving for the quarterfinals at triple match point, del Potro was left at a standstill by a blazing Millman backhand return down the line. Del Potro ballooned a mis-hit forehand long on his third match point.

On match point number four, del Potro drilled an inside-out forehand winner to end an 82-minute win. He will face Gilles Simon for a semifinal spot.

The fourth-seeded Frenchman was a 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 winner over Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff. Simon and del Potro have split six career meetings with the Argentine winning both of their grass-court encounters at the 2011 Wimbledon and 2012 Olympics.

Roland Garros semifinalist Dominic Thiem withstood 21 aces from big-serving Sam Groth slipping into the quarterfinals with a 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2), win in a match devoid of a service break.

The third-seeded Thiem, who handed Roger Federer his last loss in Rome, could meet the top seed in the semifinals. Thiem takes on 33-year-old Mikhail Youzhny, while Federer faces German qualifier Florian Mayer in the quarterfinals.