Ferrer wins twice in New Zealand

AUCKLAND, New Zealand, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- Top-seeded David Ferrer won two matches Wednesday and earned a place in the quarterfinals of the Heineken Open in New Zealand.

With rain on Tuesday forcing the postponement of several matches, Ferrer was forced to play catch-up. He started strong, with a 6-1, 6-2 first-round victory over Oscar Hernandez and then defeated Sergio Roitman, 6-1, 7-6 (7-2).

The tournament defending champion, Ferrer advanced to a quarterfinal match against Julien Benneteau, who upset sixth-seeded Nicolas Almagro, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2, in the second round.

Second-seeded Juan Ignacio Chela was ousted by Florian Mayer in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6 (9-7). Mayer goes against another seeded player in the quarters in No. 7 Philipp Kohlschreiber, who earned his spot with a 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4 win over Marin Cilic.

Fourth-seeded Juan Carlos Ferrero, like Ferrer, had two matches Wednesday. He beat Jesse Levine, 6-4, 6-1, in the first round and then beat Jurgen Melzer, 6-3, 7-6 (8-6), in the second. His quarterfinal opponent is Nicolas Massu, who topped Xavier Malisse, 6-4, 6-4, in the second round.

The fourth quarterfinal Thursday sends Juan Monaco against Michael Llodra. Llodra, who won last week's tournament in Adelaide, won twice Wednesday, taking out Lee Hyung-taik, 6-1, 6-4, and then upsetting eighth-seeded Albert Montanes, 6-3, 6-4. Monaco's day featured wins over Thomas Johansson, 6-3, 6-4, and Olivier Rochus, 6-3, 6-3.