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Local hero Gonzalez survives in Chile


Top seed and defending champion Fernando Gonzalez battled past 113th-ranked Argentine Maximo Gonzalez 7-5, 7-6 in a challenging second round encounter on Wednesday at the Movistar Open in Vina del Mar.

The tight victory means Fernando Gonzalez has reached the quarter-finals or better in seven straight appearances at the ATP World Tour event in Chile and will now face fifth seed Juan Monaco for a place in the semis.

Other quarter-finalists are Uruguayan qualifier Pablo Cuevas and Chiles No. 3 player Paul Capdeville. Second seed Tommy Robredo and fourth seed Agustin Calleri will be vying for their quarter-final berths later today.

Some big names also enjoyed victories at the SA Open in Johannesburg as former top 10 players David Ferrer and Marcos Baghdatis both won their second round encounters in straight sets. The pair will now meet in the quarters.

Elsewhere in the South African draw, wild card and world No. 286 Izak van der Merwe recorded his second ever ATP World Tour win prevailing over Benjamin Becker 7-6, 7-6. Next up for the local boy will be Sebastian de Chaunac who knocked out third-seeded Spaniard Marcel Granollers 7-5, 7-6.

Marin Cilics early season form continued yesterday as the Croat cruised past Florent Serra of Italy 6-2, 7-5 on Wednesday at the Zagreb Open.

Next on the cards for Cilic will be compatriot Antonio Veic for a place in the semi-finals. Meanwhile, Ivan Ljubicics run came to an end as he was ousted by Serbian Viktor Troiki 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 just under two-and-a-half hours.

Fourth seed Paul-Henri Mathieu and Romanian Victor Hanescu reached the second round in Zagreb on Wednesday.


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Tim Farthing, Tennishead Editorial Director & Owner, has been a huge tennis fan his whole life. He's a tennis journalist and entrepreneur as well as playing tennis to a national standard. He also helps manage his local club and volunteers for his local tennis organisation. He's a specialist in content about the administration of professional tennis and tennis coaching for all levels.