Valencia, Spain – Two-time champion David Ferrer was an easy second-round victor Thursday at the Valencia Open.
The top-seeded world No. 5 star handled fellow Spaniard Albert Ramos 6-4, 6-2 on the hardcourts at the City of the Arts and Sciences.
Ferrer, who titled here in 2008 and 2010 and was the Valencia runner-up in 2005, will battle sixth-seeded compatriot Nicolas Almagro in Friday's quarterfinals.
Almagro, who reached three straight Valencia finals from 2006-08, including back-to-back titles in 2006 and 2007, outlasted American Sam Querrey 6-4, 6-7 (4-7), 6-0 on Thursday.
Reigning Valencia titlist Marcel Granollers continued his winning ways at this event by overcoming Frenchman Gilles Simon 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 6-2. Simon was a Valencia runner-up in 2006.
Granollers beat Argentine Juan Monaco in last year's Valencia finale and was the 2010 runner-up to Ferrer.
In other second-round action, Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov doused Luxembourg's Gilles Muller 6-4, 6-4 and Austrian Jurgen Melzer bested Belgian Xavier Malisse 7-5, 6-2. Dolgopolov will face Granollers in the quarterfinals, while Melzer will take on another Belgian player, David Goffin, on Friday.
One other quarterfinal will pit seventh-seeded Marin Cilic against fellow Croat Ivan Dodig.
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