MIAMI, March 23 (UPI) -- Playing at one of his favorite venues, former world No. 1 Marcelo Rios turned in one of his best performances of the year Sunday when he ousted third seed Juan Carlos Ferrero in the third round of the Nasdaq-100 Open.
Rios, whose career has been hampered by a series of injuries, was not far from his old self in a 6-3, 7-6 (7-2) victory at the Tennis Masters Series event.
He unleashed wicked swinging serves and masked groundstrokes to confound the Spaniard's mobility and bring the total of beaten seeds to 13.
The highlight of the Chilean's career occurred in this stadium five years ago, when he beat Andre Agassi to take the title and become the No. 1-ranked player in the world for the first time.
"It was a few years ago," he said. "Just was a great moment. Was the best moment in my career. Obviously, every time you play on center court, you remember what happened in '98."
As he did then, Rios received overwhelming support from South Americans in the crowd at Crandon Park center court, many of whom waved Chilean flags.
"Lot of Chileans here, always a lot of Chilean people here," said Rios, who reached the semifinals here last year and boasts a 20-7 all-time mark in Miami. "I play good every time I come here. I have tough matches, but I've been playing good the last three years."
Ferrero dropped his third match in his last four outings and endured his first defeat to Rios in four career meetings.
Ferrero's countryman, fifth seed Carlos Moya, defeated fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3, for his best hardcourt result of the season.
No. 14 Rainer Schuettler, the Australian Open finalist from Germany, made a 6-4, 6-4 exit at the hands of Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic.
Third-seeded Kim Clijsters of Belgium became the first woman into the fourth round when she ousted Paolo Suarez of Argentina, 6-2, 6-2. It was Clijsters' eighth win in a row, a streak that includes her first Tier I title at Indian Wells last week.
It also took her to within two wins of a possible rematch with Serena Williams.
Williams, the world No. 1, was down, 5-1, in the final set before beating Clijsters in a memorable match at the Australian Open in January.
