BUENOS AIRES, Feb. 18 (UPI) -- The five singles matches on the schedule Monday at the $380,000 Copa AT&T tennis claycourt tournament were won by natives of Argentina.
The group was led by second-seeded David Nalbandian, who had a 6-3, 6-0 thrashing of Fernando Vicente of Spain.
Nalbandian, last year's Wimbledon runner-up, was a quarterfinalist last month at the Australian Open. In addition to his surprise showing at the All-England Club, the 21-year-old from Cordoba won the first two titles of his career at Estoril and Basel.
No. 8 seed Guillermo Coria posted a 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 victory over countryman Jose Acasuso, the 2001 AT&T runnerup.
Some 3,000 spectators saw Franco Squillari defeat Andre Sa of Brazil, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2. Squillari, whose best result of the year was a quarterfinal showing at Sydney in January, is hoping Monday's victory is a sign of things to come.
"I stepped on the court somewhat sleepy, but I hope it's not like that next time," he said. "I feel motivated to win tournaments. As players, we always step on court to win. Each match is a different story and logic doesn't exist in tennis."
Mariano Zabaleta dispatched Attila Savolt of Hungary, 6-3, 6-4. Zabaleta started the season by reaching the quarterfinals at Adelaide and the semifinals at Auckland before falling in the first round of the Australian Open.
"I've been practicing for three weeks for this tournament," he said. "It was difficult to play today because of the strong wind. Matches in these conditions are very difficult, but I like the way I resolved the important moments in the match and dominated from beginning to end."
Argentine wild card Edgardo Massa made the most of his opportunity with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Spain's Alberto Martin.
On Tuesday, top seed Carlos Moya of Spain is in action against countryman David Ferrer, and defending champion Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil battles Marcelo Rios, who lost Sunday in the final at Vina del Mar.
