Nadal eases into Acapulco quarter-finals

ACAPULCO, Mexico: Rafael Nadal eased into the quarter-finals of the Mexican Open on Wednesday, continuing his comeback from the knee injury that sidelined the 11-time Grand Slam champion for seven months.

Nadal, playing in his third tournament in four weeks after his lengthy layoff, needed one hour and 16 minutes to get past Argentine qualifier Martin Alund 6-0, 6-4.

Nadal pocketed the first set in less than half an hour, saving all three of the break points he faced in the contest and winning 26 of his 33 first service points.

The convincing victory came a fortnight after Nadal needed three sets to get past Alund in the semi-finals of the clay court tournament in Sao Paulo, where Nadal went on to win his first title since last year's French Open.

A week before that he fell in the final at Vina del Mar, Chile, to Horacio Zeballos.

The relatively low-key clay court tournaments in Latin America were expected to serve as Nadal's preparation for prestigious Masters Series events on US hard courts at Indian Wells, California, and Miami.

At number four in the world, Ferrer is currently ranked one spot higher than former number one Nadal and is the three-time defending champion in Acapulco.

Ferrer and defending women's champion Sara Errani also booked their quarter-final berths in this combined ATP and WTA event on Wednesday.

Thirty-year-old Ferrer defeated US qualifier Wayne Odesnik 6-2, 6-1, while Italy's Errani defeated Canada's Eugenie Bouchard 7-6 (7/4), 6-2.

Ferrer next faces Italian Paolo Lorenzi, a 6-4, 6-3 winner over Spain's Pablo Andujar.

Nadal, seeking a 38th career clay court title, will face Argentina's Leonardo Mayer in the quarter-finals. Mayer defeated Russian Andrey Kuznetsov 6-2, 6-2. (AFP)