Spain Leads Dirt Winners at ATP Palermo

"Sunday night, after we won Davis Cup, we did not go to bed," said The Prodigy, giving the life update. "We celebrated and I had a very early flight to go to Barcelona on Monday. I had a medical check-up for my foot then I came to Palermo, practiced 30 minutes then I went to bed...I thought it would be more difficult today as I was tired from the Davis Cup."

Also into the second round were Italians (5) Filippo Volandri (d. Montanes), "You Say" Potito Starace (d. Gasquet 6-1 in the third), and wildcard Andreas Seppi (d. 1999 winner Di Pasquale in three), Argentina's Juan "The Principality" Monaco (d. Kohlschreiber, who retired in the third due to the flu), Russian (4) Nikolay Davydenko (d. Hanescu), and Belgium's Kristof Vliegen (d. 1998 winner (Q) Puerta).

"I'm around 150 right now, I would like to break into the Top 100 but it's going to be difficult as I need a lot of points," said Seppi, breaking down how the rankings work: points = rising higher. "I'm looking forward to the indoor season though, as I prefer to play on fast surfaces."

Scheduled on the dirt today are (8) Berdych vs. O.Hernandez, (3) Fernando "Hot Sauce" Verdasco vs. The Principality, (1) Nicolas "The Golden Child" Massu vs. D.Sanchez (career series tied 2-2), Olivier "Mucus" Mutis vs. (6) The Prodigy, (7) Ferrer vs. Calatrava in an all-ESP, and M-Lo vs. (4) Davydenko.