Top seed Juan Martin Del Potro marked his return to tennis after a month-long injury absence yesterday with a three-hour victory over German qualifier Daniel Brands to reach the Austrian Open third round.

The Argentine defeated Brands 6-7 (5/7), 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (8/6) in a match featuring 62 aces (32 for Brands and 30 for Del Potro) and no breaks of serve.