Stuttgart, Germany - Defending champion David Ferrer of Spain was an upset victim Wednesday in second-round action at the Mercedes Cup.
Fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco eliminated the fourth-seeded Ferrer with a 7-5, 6-3 triumph on the red clay and will next face Argentina’s Juan Ignacio Chela in the quarterfinals.
The seventh-seeded Chela advanced with a 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 victory over Serbian qualifier Boris Pashanski.
Czech qualifier Jiri Vanek rallied for a 1-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 victory over France’s Gael Monfils. Monfils had knocked out second-seeded Tommy Robredo in the first round on Monday.
The day’s other second-round winner was Switzerland’s Stanislas Wawrinka, who posted an easy 6-4, 6-1 triumph over Croatian qualifier Marin Cilic. Wawrinka and Vanek will meet in another quarterfinal match.
Second-round action is scheduled to conclude on Thursday with four matches.
Top-seeded Rafael Nadal of Spain, the 2005 champion, is slated to face Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber, while third-seeded Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic is set to take on Spain’s Feliciano Lopez. The other two matches will pit sixth-seeded Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero against Argentina’s Diego Hartfield and eighth-seeded Juan Monaco of Argentina against Austria’s Stefan Koubek.
