Stepanek, Garcia-Lopez Reach Tokyo QFs

© Getty ImagesRadek Stepanek improved to a 12-11 record this year.

Former World No. 8 Radek Stepanek advanced to the quarter-finals at the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships on Wednesday when his Swiss opponent, Marco Chiudinelli, retired due to a lower back injury.

Stepanek was leading 5-7, 7-6(7) 4-1 and had hit 12 aces after two hours and 24 minutes of play. The Czech was sidelined for two-and-a-half months due to mononucleosis earlier in the year. He reached the Brisbane International final (l. to Roddick) and has a 12-11 match record.

"I was always behind, hanging in there until he had the problem with his back," said Stepanek. "But it is also tough when you know your opponent has got an injury. In the third set he could not serve anymore. I hope he gets well as soon as possible.

"I got mono this year, then [a] knee injury. I did not play for six months. Only after the US Open I started feeling good about my game. It is not easy to come back as you can see with [Juan Martin] del Potro and Jo [Tsonga] this week."

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Last week's PTT Thailand Open champion Guillermo Garcia-Lopez knocked out sixth-seeded Spanish compatriot Feliciano Lopez 7-6(5), 6-4 in the pair’s first meeting in 12 months. The World No. 39 won 81 per cent of service points to reach his fifth ATP World Tour quarter-final (or better) this year. Lopez, who reached the 2002 and 2007 quarter-finals in the Japanese capital, failed to convert any of his four break point opportunities and dropped to a 26-20 season tally.

"The key was the tie-break, he was up 5-4 and serving and I came back to win it," said Garcia-Lopez. "After that I had more confidence and he got down. When I beat Rafa [Nadal] in Bangkok, it was the best match in my career. I think I am playing my best tennis, I have won seven matches in a row now."

Jarkko Nieminen, who was beaten by Garcia-Lopez in the Bangkok final on Sunday, avenged his US Open first round loss to Daniel Gimeno-Traver with a 6-3, 7-6(8) win in 86 minutes. This week, 29-year-old Nieminen has broken back into the Top 50 for the first time since 25 May 2009.

Russian Dmitry Tursunov, ranked No. 432 in the South African Airways 2010 ATP Rankings after three left ankle surgeries, defeated 2007 finalist Richard Gasquet of France 7-6(2), 1-6, 6-4 in two hours and four minutes to book a place in his first ATP World Tour quarter-final since July 2009 at Indianapolis. Both players struck six aces and Tursunov converted one of six break point chances in the pair's seventh meeting (Tursunov 5-2 overall). Gasquet, 24, dropped to a 32-18 season record.