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Australia’s Marinko Matosevic has set up a clash with world No.4 David Ferrer at the China Open in Beijing after winning his first-round match on Tuesday.
Matosevic beat Julien Benneteau 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 just two days after the in-form Frenchman lost the Malaysian Open final in three sets to Portugal’s Joao Sousa.
The 28-year-old Matosevic’s serve was below-par but he allowed Benneteau to convert only one of his five break-point opportunities.
The world No.56 now faces a big challenge against Ferrer, who won pushed all the way by Canadian Vasek Pospisil before winning through to the second round 6-4 3-6 7-6 (7/2).
Lleyton Hewitt will face Italian Fabio Fognini in the opening match on centre court on Wednesday with victory likely to pit him against Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals.
Nadal, who is vying for the world No.1 ranking with Novak Djokovic, defeated Santiago Spaniard Giraldo 6-2 6-4 on Tuesday to set up an encounter with German Philipp Kohlschreiber for a berth in the last eight.
Djokovic signalled his intent to defend the title he won in the Chinese capital last year when he swept aside Lukas Rosol 6-0 6-3 in just 53 minutes.
Djokovic will meet Spain’s Fernando Verdasco in the second round.
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