Ferrer looks to rule in Rome

David Ferrer came through an all-Spanish showdown against Fernando Verdasco at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome on Tuesday.

Ferrer, who also defeated Verdasco in the 2010 Rome semi-finals and this year's Acapulco final, emerged 6-3 7-6(3) in the second round in just under two hours in the Italian capital. The 30-year-old reached the final of the Foro Italico two years ago before he was denied glory by another countryman, Rafael Nadal, and he continues to make good progress on clay in 2012. He has already won two ATP World Tour clay-court titles this year, in Buenos Aires and Acapulco, and reached the final in Barcelona before again succumbing to Nadal. Another player to win in the Eternal City on Tuesday was France's No 16 seed Richard Gasquet, who cruised into the second round with a 6-1 7-6(6) victory over Austria's Jurgen Melzer.