Ferrer Rock Solid In Buenos Aires

At age 33, David Ferrer is still going strong. The Spaniard, seeded second, routed Argentine wild card Renzo Olivo 6-2, 6-2 at the Argentina Open on Thursday to move into the quarter-finals. Ferrer needed only 72 minutes to advance.

In the speedy win over the World No. 151, the Javea native showed off his remarkable consistency against lower-ranked players. Last year, he only lost one ATP World Tour match on clay against a player ranked outside the Top 5 (Andujar, Barcelona SFs). Since turning pro in 2000, he has won more than 75 per cent of matches against opponents who trail him in the Emirates ATP Rankings.

Next up for the efficient Spaniard is eighth seed Pablo Cuevas, who saw off Santiago Giraldo 6-4, 6-2 in 85 minutes. Giraldo was looking for his first win over Cuevas since 2006, but was defeated after the Uruguayan broke him four times in nine opportunities.

Ferrer holds a 2-0 lead in his FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry against Cuevas and has never dropped a set against his quarter-final opponent.