Stepanek stuns Marin Cilic in Stuttgar

Frustrating ‘ Czech veteran Radek Stepanek stunned second seed Marin Cilic 7-6 (7-4) 7-5 to eliminate the Croatian at the first hurdle.Argentine Juan Martin del Potro needed four match points to finally tame Australian John Millman 6-4, 6-4.Del Potro, whose good friend Rafael Nadal withdrew from Wimbledon to let a wrist injury heal, said that his own recovery form long’term wrist problems is progressing at a measured pace.’I have to be patient it can be frustrating. You want to hit hard on the grass. But this is only my first grass week and I have to deal with that and my wrist recovery. In the end I played some good tennis.’This is a special moment for me after not playing on grass since 2013. If you start well and hit hard on this surface you have a chance to win.’Third seed Thiem defeated Sam Groth 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-2) despite the Australian sending down 21 aces.Thiem will line up in Friday s quarter’finals against Mikhail Youzhny after the Russian beat Sergiy Stakhovsky 6-3, 7-6 (7-1).French fourth seed Gilles Simon beat Germany’s Jan’Lennard Struff 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.