VIENNA, Oct: Frenchman Gael Monfils defeated Czech Radek Stepanek 6-4, 6-3 at the Austrian Open on Thursday to set up a quarter-final clash with second seed Fernando Gonzalez, while third seed Juan Martin Del Potro was forced to withdraw with a foot injury.

Eighth-seeded Monfils produced an athletic performance and always looked the better player against an opponent that was persistent but prone to error, especially off his forehand.Although Stepanek earned the first break to lead 4-2, Monfils immediately broke back and then broke again to lead 5-4 when Stepanek sent a forehand long.

Monfils then made a perfect start to the second set, earning break point with a lob and then breaking when Stepanek made another forehand error. Although Monfils faced two break points when leading 3-2 he held off the challenge, and then broke again for the match when Stepanek netted a backhand volley. “I think today I played very solid,” said Monfils.

Feliciano Lopez of Spain reached his fifth consecutive Vienna quarter-final with a 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 win over Colombia’s Santiago Giraldo, recovering from 3-5 in the tie-break before easing through the second set. In the last of the second round matches, Austria’s Jurgen Melzer defeated Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain 7-6 (7/4), 6-3.

Del Potro’s hopes for qualifying for the Masters Cup were dealt a blow when an injury to his right toe forced the 20-year old from Argentina to pull out of the tournament. The problem, a split toe nail similar to the problem that recently bothered Jelena Jankovic in Stuttgart, began at the US Open, and he aggravated the injury during his quarter-final win over David Ferrer last week.

The nail then broke completely during his first round win over Austria’s Martin Fischer on Wednesday. He also has a bruise on the big toe of his left foot. Del Potro has been told to rest the foot for the next few days, and he will now travel to Madrid for treatment in a bid to play there next week.