Flying Finn Jarkko Nieminen did his part to set up a potential repeat showdown with Stockholm Open holder James Blake after thrashing Australian Peter Luczak 6-0, 6-4 on Thursday in the second round. It remained for top seeded American to join the sixth seed in the quarter-finals as he faced off later against dangerous Canadian Frank Dancevic.
Nieminen lost the final a year ago to Blake, who remains the event's reigning perfectionist with an undefeated 11-0 record and titles in 2005 and 2006. Should he get past Dancevic - who fired 35 aces to win his opener at the Kungligahallen - Blake would come fact-to-face with a Nieminen keen to take revenge. The Finn, ranked 26th, owns a proud record in the Swedish capital, reaching the final in 2001 from a qualifying start.
Nieminen will be playing in his fourth quarter-final of the season after dismissing Luczak, 84th and competing in Stockholm for the first time. Croatian Mario Ancic took another huge step on the comeback road after missing the majority of eight months with glandular fever followed by a shoulder injury in August.
The former top ten contender crushed Swede Bjorn Rehnquist 6-1, 6-3, for a place in the last eight, where he will play either Swede Thomas Johansson or Frenchman Michael Llodra. It is Ancic's first event since a trial fitness run in August on the ATP.