Third seed David Nalbandian recovered from a shocking start to beat Argentine compatriot Agustin Calleri 1-6, 7-6, 6-3 on Tuesday and become the first man into the third round of the Barcelona Open.
Calleri, a semi-finalist here last year, raced through the first set in 26 minutes. Nalbandian served poorly and allowed his opponent, ranked 60, to take the initiative.
Nalbandian then squandered a 4-0 lead in the second set and was forced into a tiebreak which he won 7-2.
He broke the Calleri serve in the first game of the decider and repeated the feat in the ninth game to clinch victory. He next meets 14th seed Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland or Kazakhstani lucky loser Yuri Schukin.
"It was not a very good match, I didn't play my best but it is always difficult to play a friend," Nalbandian told reporters.
"I know I need to play much better if I even want to get as far as the final and to play (Rafael) Nadal (the favourite)."
Seventh seed Andy Murray became the highest-ranked player to go out, beaten 6-4, 6-4 by former Wimbledon semi-finalist Mario Ancic of Croatia in the second round.
"I really didn't get fired up," Murray, a late wildcard entrant, said. "I was a bit flat at the start and didn't have the intensity of last week (at Monte Carlo)."
Guillermo Coria's struggle to regain top form after injury continued. He was beaten 5-7 6-4 6-4 by Russian Teimuraz Gabashvili in the first round.
MORE HUMBLE
The Argentine, runner-up at the French Open in 2004 but beset by shoulder problems since and playing with an injury-protected ranking of 105, led 4-2 in the decider but could not make the advantage tell against the world number 138.
Last month, Coria lost 6-0, 4-6, 6-0 to Italian Flavio Cipolla in a Challenger event in Naples but he said his performance against Gabashvili gave him encouragement.
"Today I went away satisfied, not like in Italy," he said. "There I felt ashamed for the people.
"(If I want to come back) I must be more humble, to accept where I am in the game. Before, I didn't enjoy my tennis. But it's different now."
Feliciano Lopez, the Spanish 16th seed, advanced when Argentine Jose Acauso retired injured when trailing 5-2 in the first set. His 10th seeded compatriot Nicolas Almagro and Latvian Ernests Gulbis were also the benfeciaries of retirements by their opponents.
