By Alberto Amalfi | Tuesday, May 2, 2017
Juan Martin del Potro swept Yuichi Sugita, 6-1, 6-3, to reach the Millennium Estoril Open second round.
Photo credit: Millennium Estoril Open
Juan Martin del Potro was a powerful presence in his return to tournament tennis.
The 2009 US Open champion cranked eight aces and did not drop serve dismissing 73rd-ranked Japanese Yuichi Sugita, 6-1, 6-3, to roll into the Millennium Estoril Open second round.
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It was del Potro’s first match since he bowed to Roger Federer at the Miami Open in March.
The 33rd-ranked Argentine won 13 of 21 points played on Sugita’s second serve and broke serve four times in the 80-minute victory. Sugita played through qualifying and won a total of five matches reaching the Barcelona quarterfinals last week before falling to eventual-finalist Dominic Thiem.
Before del Potro stepped on the red clay, he hit the dirt track.
Del Potro will play Ryan Harrison for a quarterfinal spot.
Memphis champion Harrison grinded past Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2. Harrison fought off three of five break points beating Garcia-Lopez for the fifth time in as many meetings.
It was a big day for qualifiers.
Portuguese qualifier Joao Domingues fought off two match points roaring back from a 2-5 deficit in the final set stunning seventh-seeded Kyle Edmund, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (2).
It was the 242nd-ranked Domingues’ first career ATP main-draw win. Edmund took a set off nine-time Roland Garros champion Rafael Nadal in Monte Carlo last month.
The 23-year-old Domingues will play 66th-ranked South African Kevin Anderson in the second round.
American qualifier Bjorn Fratangelo saved six of seven break points stunning home favorite Joao Sousa, 6-3, 6-4, in 86 minutes.
The sixth-seeded Portuguese served 48 percent for the match.
Fratangelo will face 113th-ranked Japanese Taro Daniel for a place in the last eight.