ACAPULCO, Mexico, Feb. 24 (UPI) -- No. 1 seed David Ferrer, trying to build on his early-season success, reached the quarterfinals Wednesday at the Abierto Mexicano.
Ferrer brushed past Santiago Gonzalez 6-2, 6-2 to set up a quarterfinal match against No. 8 seed Juan Monaco.
Monaco advanced with a 6-3, 6-4 decision over Pablo Cuevas.
Ferrer won an Australian Open tune-up by defeating David Nalbandian in the title match and then made it to the semifinals of the first major event of the year before falling to Andy Murray.
Since then, however, Ferrer has twice lost in an opening-round match.
He led a wave of seeded players into the quarterfinals Wednesday. No. 3 Nicolas Almagro defeated Filippo Volandri 6-2, 6-2; fourth-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka rallied past Fabio Fognini 5-7, 6-3, 7-5; No. 5 seed Albert Montanes was a 6-3, 6-4 winner over Santiago Giraldo and sixth-seeded Alexandr Dolgopolov ousted Carlos Berlocq 6-4, 6-1.
