COSTA DO SAUIPE, Brazil (AP)—Top-seeded Juan Carlos Ferrero won his first match of the year in a two-hour struggle with Argentina's Eduardo Schwank 7-6 (4), 6-3 at the Brazil Open on Tuesday.
Ferrero, who'd made opening-round exits at Auckland and the Australian Open, had to break Schwank four times to win the second set. The Argentine reached the quarterfinals last week at Santiago.
Ferrero, the 2007 runner-up, moved onto a second-round match with Chile's Nicolas Massu, the 2006 champion who beat Brazilian qualifier Rogerio Dutra Da Silva 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.
Fourth-seeded Igor Andreev also posted his first win of 2010 after two defeats when he beat Potito Starace of Italy 6-2, 6-2. Andreev also finally won at his third attempt in the Brazil Open.