Tue May 13 10:54:13 2008

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Davydenko, Ferrer ease into third round in Hamburg

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Hamburg, Germany (Sports Network) - Fourth-seeded Russian star Nikolay Davydenko and fifth-seeded Spaniard David Ferrer were easy second-round winners Tuesday at the $2.955 million Masters Series Hamburg, a clay-court French Open tuneup.

The gritty Davydenko drilled former top-10 Croat Ivan Ljubicic 6-4, 6-1, while the 2007 Tennis Masters Cup runner-up Ferrer handled Czech lucky-loser Ivo Minar 6-3, 6-3 on Day 3 at Rothenbaum.

Davydenko and Ferrer were joined in the third round by Spanish southpaw Fernando Verdasco, who drubbed Frenchman Michael Llodra 6-2, 6-0. Verdasco will meet his fellow Spaniard Ferrer in the round of 16.

In opening-round play, 11th-seeded Spaniard Carlos Moya came from behind to beat French qualifier Julien Benneteau 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (9-7).

In some other first-round action, Swede Robin Soderling overcame Russian Igor Andreev 4-6, 6-3, 6-3; Serbian Janko Tipsarevic came back to top German wild card Andreas Beck 3-6, 6-3, 6-1; Argentine Jose Acasuso erased Belgian lucky- loser Kristof Vliegen 5-2,; and Italian Potito Starace dismissed Peruvian qualifier Luis Horna 6-3, 4-2. Vliegen retired with a back injury against Acasuso, while Horna succumbed to a calf problem versus Starace, who is rewarded with a second-rounder against Spanish clay-court king Rafael Nadal.

This week's top seed, Swiss superstar Roger Federer, beat the three-time French Open champion Nadal in last year's Hamburg finale. It marked Federer's fourth title here in six years (2002, 2004-05, 2007).