The four top seeds _ Fernando Verdasco, Filippo Volandri, Gilles Simon and Nicolas Almagro _ advanced to the quarter-finals of the clay-court Campionati Internazionali di Sicilia on Thursday.
Top-seeded Verdasco of Spain defeated Jan Hajek of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-2 in the second round. He next plays eighth-seeded countryman Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo, who eliminated Italian wild-card Gianluca Naso 6-2, 6-2.
Volandri of Italy, the No. 2 seed, beat Argentine Sergio Roitman 6-7 (6), 6-1, 6-4 and will face Spain's Albert Montanes, who ousted Potito Starace of Italy 6-2, 6-2.
Third-seeded Simon of France beat Mariano Zabaleta of Argentina 7-5, 6-3 and will play Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador, who knocked out Italian wild-card Fabio Fognini 2-6, 6-1, 7-6 (4).
Almagro of Spain defeated Czech qualifier Frantisek Cermak 6-1, 6-2. He will play Martin Vassallo Arguello of Argentina, who beat Spaniard Oscar Hernandez 2-6, 6-4, 6-4.
© The Canadian Press, 2007
