INDIAN WELLS, Calif., March 10 (UPI) -- Former U.S. Open champ Juan Martin del Potro breezed into the second round of the BNP Paribas Open Thursday with his sixth consecutive match victory.
Del Potro is unseeded in this Masters Series tournament even though he has reached at least the semifinals in his last three events and won last week in Delray Beach, Fla.
He defeated Radek Stepanek 6-4, 6-0 in 84 minutes to set up a second-round match against defending champion Ivan Ljubicic, the event's No. 14 seed. All seeded players had a bye past the first round.
Rik De Voest moved into the second round when Pere Riba retired in the second set. De Voest's reward for that victory will be a match against Rafael Nadal, the top-ranked player in the world.
Michael Berrer set up a meeting with fourth-seeded Robin Soderling by outlasting Bjorn Phau 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.
Other first-round winners Thursday included Donald Young, Ryan Sweeting, Tim Smyczek, Rainer Schuettler, Xavier Malisse and Janko Tipsarevic.
