Marat Safin, who in late February returned from a six-month hiatus due to a knee injury, continued to show sharp form Thursday at the ATP claycourt stop in Valencia, thumping Serb rising star
Boris Pashanski 6-2, 6-2 to advance into his first quarterfinal of 2006.
Other winners into the quarters were No. 2 seed
Gaston Gaudio (d. Mayer), No. 6
Filippo Volandri (d. Zib), and Spanish qualifier
Nicolas Almagro (d. Phau), all in straight sets.
"The win against Juan Carlos (Ferrero) gave me a lot of confidence, and I feel very good about my game right now," Almagro told reporters.
Lining up for the Friday quarterfinals are Seppi vs. Simon, (6) Volandri vs. (Q) Almagro, (WC) Safin vs. (2) Gaudio in a battle of slam winners, and Guillermo "G-Lo" Garcia-Lopez vs. (7) Fernando "Hot Sauce" Verdasco.
