Nalbandian back with a win

 

Originally published on: 26/02/10 13:06

The former world number three, who had been out of action since undergoing hip surgery in May, won the first set of his first-round clash on Monday before torrential rain ended the day’s play.

He completed a 6-2 7-6 (7/2) victory over the Italian on Tuesday to secure his place in round two,

Meanwhile, Spanish duo David Ferrer and Juan Carlos Ferrero, the top two seeds, breezed through their first-round matches.

Top seed Ferrer defeated Germany’s Simon Greul 6-2 7-6 (7/3) while Ferrero was a 6-1 6-2 winner against Brazilian Ricardo Mello.

It was a good day for Spain all round in Argentina.

Fifth seed Albert Montanes overcame Uruguay’s Pablo Cuevas 6-2 6-2 and wild card Carlos Moya saw off Italian Filippo Volandri 6-2 7-5.

Marcel Granollers cruised into round two with a 6-1 6-2 triumph over Argentinian qualifier Diego Junqueira, Spanish qualifier Santiago Ventura ousted Daniel Koellerer of Austria 6-4 6-2 and Pablo Andujar prevailed 6-4 6-1 in the all-Spanish match-up with Oscar Hernandez.

There will also be plenty of Argentinian interest in round two. Juan Ignacio Chela overcame France’s Richard Gasquet 7-6 (7/3) 7-5, fourth seed Juan Monaco beat Poland’s Lukasz Kubot 6-4 7-6 (7/1) and eighth seed Horacio Zeballos got the better of wild card compatriot Gaston Gaudio 6-3 3-6 6-3.

Elsewhere, sixth-seeded Russian Igor Andreev was too strong for Fabio Fognini and Brazil’s Marcos Daniel overcame another Italian, Paolo Lorenzi, in straight sets.

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