RIO DE JANEIRO — The King of Clay Rafael Nadal and defending champion David Ferrer are into the quarterfinals of the Rio Open, the third clay-court tournament in the month-long swing around Latin America.
Nadal and Ferrer - the top two seeded players - both beat fellow Spaniards to reach the last eight. Nadal beat Nicolas Almagro 6-3, 7-5 and Ferrer defeated Albert Ramos-Vinolas 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.
Nadal has won 14 of 15 matches against Almagro.
Nadal will face Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine, while Ferrer meets young Austrian Dominic Thiem in the last eight, a matchup of one of the most consistent players on clay against a 22-year-old viewed as a star of the next generation.