Ferrero, Moya dig deep to win in Barcelona
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-04-20 08:59

Juan Carlos Ferrero and Carlos Moya, the former French Open champions, had to dig deep to clinch victories at the Barcelona Open today. Ferrero was pushed all the way by fellow countryman Albert Montanes before eventually winning through 6-3 3-6 7-5 in his first round match.

Moya, like Ferrero a past winner at Barcelona, also had a tough time of it in his second round match against Jarkko Nieminen, eventually triumphing 7-5 5-7 6-2 over the Finnish qualifier. Serving for the match at 5-4 in the third set, Montanes looked on course to record his first victory over Ferrero.

However, the 24-year-old had to take a mid-game break to receive treatment on his legs after losing a marathon point in the blazing Barcelona sunshine. It was Ferrero who retained his focus after the 10-minute interval and broke serve with a perfectly executed back-hand drop shot that left Montanes scrambling helplessly on the clay. Montanes lost his temper as the opportunity slipped from his grasp and Ferrero took advantage to hold serve to love and then break to take the final set after two hours, 45 minutes.

"I think I played very well," said former world number one Ferrero. "I kept my concentration after the injury break and physically I felt 100 percent although I still need to do some work on my forehand." Ferrero has another all-Spanish clash in the second round, against Feliciano Lopez. Moya, seeded three in this year's tournament, also stepped up a gear in the decisive set against Nieminen, breaking in the fifth and seventh games before serving out to win 6-2 in two hours 21 minutes.

Spain's Alberto Martin earned himself a second-round match against defending champion and compatriot Tommy Robredo after an efficient 6-4 6-3 win over Moroccan Younes El Aynaoui. Martin, who lost to finalist Guillermo Coria in the third round at last week's Monte Carlo Masters Series, broke serve in the ninth game to lead 5-4 and then saved five break points to take the first set. He stretched the rangy Moroccan with some pin-point backhand passes and deft drop shots to ease his way into a 5-3 lead in the second before breaking serve once more to win the match.

Juan Ignacio Chela won 6-4 7-6 against Spanish qualifier and former finalist Albert Portas and will meet fellow Argentine Agustin Calleri, who edged a 7-6 7-6 thriller against French teenager Gael Monfils.

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