Second-seeded Juan Martin del Potro battled past James Blake 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) Wednesday at the ATP Los Angeles hardcourt tournament as third-seeded Marcos Baghdatis was sent packing. Argentina's Del Potro, on the comeback trail after a wrist injury cut short his 2010 season, booked a quarter-final clash with Latvia's Ernests Gulbis. Baghdatis, however, was bundled out by Taiwan's Lu Yen-Hsun, who defeated the Cypriot 6-3, 6-4 to set up a quarter-final clash with American Ryan Harrison.
Both del Potro and Baghdatis enjoyed first-round byes, as did top-seeded Mardy Fish and fourth-seeded Thomaz Bellucci. Fish will open his campaign on Thursday against Luxembourg's Gilles Muller while Bellucci faces Colombian Alejandro Falla in a second-round contest. After pocketing the first set, del Potro gained the edge in the second when he broke Blake in the third game.