Del Potro Sets Berdych Clash; Coric Advances

In just the second tournament of his comeback, Juan Martin del Potro enjoyed an emphatic 6-4, 6-0 victory over American qualifier Tim Smyczek on Thursday in the first round of the BNP Paribas Open.

The 27-year-old Argentine recently played his first tournament in almost a year when he reached the semi-finals in Delray Beach (l. to Querrey). The right-hander is on the comeback from wrist surgeries and looking for a return to top form at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, where he finished runner-up on his last appearance in 2013 (l. to Nadal).

Del Potro dismissed Smyczek in just 69 minutes, winning 75 per cent of his service points and breaking serve four times. The Tandil native sets a blockbuster second-round clash with sixth seed Tomas Berdych.
#NextGen star Borna Coric made a strong start to his BNP Paribas Open campaign, defeating Lucas Pouille 6-2, 7-5.
Kyle Edmund almost became the second #NextGen player to advance. The Briton served for the match at 5-3 in the third set, but ultimately fell 6-7(3), 6-4, 7-5 to Guido Pella. Korea’s Hyeon Chung, 19, also lost in three sets, falling 2-6, 6-0, 6-3 to Albert Ramos-Vinolas.

American qualifier Ryan Harrison advanced with a 6-3, 7-6(3) victory over Dusan Lajovic. The 23-year-old Harrison, who announced his engagement this week, goes on to face 10^th seed Marin Cilic, whom he beat for the first time last month in Acapulco.

Rajeev Ram won an all-American contest with Noah Rubin, beating the 20 year old 7-6(3), 7-6(2) in just under two hours.
Leonardo Mayer advanced to a second-round clash with 20^th seed Viktor Troicki as he defeated Sam Groth 6-4, 6-3, limiting the big-serving Australian to just five aces.
Milos Raonic will open his campaign against Inigo Cervantes, who won an all-Spanish clash with Nicolas Almagro 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 in just under two hours. Second seed Andy Murray and 13^th seed Gael Monfils will also face Spaniards in their opening matches after Marcel Granollers defeated Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 6-0 and Pablo Carreno Busta beat Evgeny Donskoy 6-3, 6-4.
Third seed Stan Wawrinka will face Illya Marchenko in his opening second-round match after the Ukrainian converted three of his 11 break points to edge Dmitry Tursunov 7-5, 7-6(6) in just over two hours.
Meanwhile Federico Delbonis set a clash with Joao Sousa after beating Santiago Giraldo 6-3, 7-6(5).
Later on day one of the men’s action, 2013 runner-up Juan Martin del Potro takes to Stadium 1 to face American qualifier Tim Smyczek.

Source: BNP Paribas Open