Spanish number two David Ferrer advanced through to round three of the Madrid Open at the expense of Radek Stepanek this afternoon.
The opening set proved to be an evenly contested affair as both players traded their service games. As a result, a breaker was required to determine who would claim the lead.
Stepanek began brightly before giving up his advantage to Ferrer, who eventually ran out a 7-4 victor.
Ferrer appeared to gain confidence from that point as he claimed an early break of Stepanek's serve in the next game.
In response, Stepanek rarely looked like troubling Ferrer's service game as the Spaniard went on to record a second break to wrap up a 7-6 6-2 victory.
Ferrer will now face either Nicolas Almagro or Marcel Granollers in the next round.
Liam Apicella
