Ferrer Advances to QF; Mayer Upsets Chela
Defending champion David Ferrer confidently made his way into the quarterfinals at the Heineken Open with two straight set victories, Wednesday in Auckland.
World No. 5 Ferrer, whose first round match was pushed back a day after rain curtailed play Tuesday, raced through his first round match against fellow Spaniard Oscar Hernandez in 57 minutes and then faced down a late challenge from Argentine Sergio Roitman in second round action just hours later.
He dropped serve for the first time on Wednesday in the second set of his match against Roitman, but held on to post the 6-1, 7-6(2) win.
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Second seed Juan Ignacio Chela survived a first round scare on Day 1 of the Heineken Open as he battled from down a break in the decisive set to defeat local wild card Daniel King-Turner, but he failed to match his effort on Wednesday as he ran out of steam against German Florian Mayer.
Chela denied Mayer his first chance to serve out the victory, but could not hold on in the second-set tie-break as he bowed out, 6-3, 7-6(7). The 24-year-old Mayer, currently ranked No. 56, also reached the Auckland quarterfinals in his only previous event appearance in 2006.
Mayer will next face seventh-seeded compatriot Philipp Kohlschreiber, who withstood 19 aces from Croatian teenager Marin Cilic as he moved safely through with a 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-4 victory in two hours and 11 minutes.
Fourth-seeded Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero also advanced to the quarterfinals as he defeated Austrian Jurgen Melzer 6-3, 7-6(6). He next meets Chilean qualifier Nicolas Massu, a 6-4, 6-4 winner over Belgian Xavier Malisse.
Spaniards Nicolas Almagro and Albert Montanes joined Chela as seeded casualties, upset in second round action by Frenchman Julien Benneteau and Michael Llodra, respectively.
Llodra, who opened the year with the Adelaide title, improved his perfect record for the year to 7-0 and will confront third seed Juan Monaco for a place in the semifinals after the Argentine topped Belgian Olivier Rochus in 6-3 sets.
Ferrer Races Through Rain-Delayed Opener
