Juan Martin del Potro stepped up his bid for a spot at the Nitto ATP Finals in November on Tuesday at the China Open. The popular Argentine, who needs to reach the Beijing final in order to join Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer at The O2 in London, knocked out Albert Ramos-Vinolas of Spain 7-5, 6-3 in 90 minutes for a place in the second round at the ATP World Tour 500 tournament.
In his first match since the US Open final on 9 September, top seed Del Potro fought hard in the first set. He opened up a 5-3 advantage and held one set point opportunity on serve at 5-4, 40/30, but Ramos-Vinolas broke back. Del Potro bounced back by winning the next four games and, later, broke for a 5-2 lead in the second set. Having hit 10 aces and won 86 per cent of his first-service points, he’ll next play Russia’s Karen Khachanov.
Del Potro, who is currently in fourth position in the ATP Race To London, has a 44-11 match record on the season, which includes his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown at the BNP Paribas Open (d. Federer) in March. Should he reach the Beijing final, the 30-year-old will clinch a berth at the season finale in London for the first time since 2013.
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