Ferrer coasts into Buenos Aires quarters

BUENOS AIRES, Feb. 22 (UPI) -- No. 1 seed David Ferrer easily reached the quarterfinals Wednesday at the Copa Claro clay-court tournament.

Ferrer, ranked fifth in the world, downed Facundo Bagnis 6-3, 6-4 in 77 minutes to set up a match with Fernando Gonzalez.

Gonzalez, who was given a wild-card berth in the tournament, outlasted Albert Ramos 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (7-5) in their second-round meeting.

Fourth-seeded Kei Nishikori rallied to reach the quarterfinals with a 3-6, 7-5, 6-1 decision over Victor Hanescu and Stanislas Wawrinka survived against Benoit Paire 6-3, 5-7, 6-2.

Nishikori and Wawrinka will duel in the quarterfinals.

The second round will conclude Thursday with No. 2 seed and defending champion Nicolas Almagro taking on Federico Delbonis in the feature attraction. Almagro won the championship in Sao Paulo last week.