Costa v Ferrero Today at ATP Barcelona

The wildcard entrant Costa moved into the third round with a straight-set defeat of No. 8 seed Dominik "The Dominator" Hrbaty, making due on the gimpy knee that will end his career at the conclusion of the event.

Karlovic shocked Russian No. 2 seed Nikolay Davydenko 6-7(7), 7-5, 6-4, throwing down 19 aces to move into the third round.

Other seeded winners Wednesday were (1) Rafael Nadal (d. countryman F.Lopez), (4) Radek Stepanek (d. Volandri from a set down), (6) Tommy Robredo (d. Starace, bagel in the second), (7) Jarkko Nieminen (d. Kohlschreiber), (10) Juan Carlos Ferrero (d. countryman A.Martin), and (12) Fernando Verdasco (d. Calleri).

"I didn't play a great match, but once I pass the first two rounds, things get easier," Nadal told reporters after his 43rd consecutive claycourt win. "I'm used to the court and the conditions."

32-year-old Spaniard Albert "The Dropshot Dragon" Portas also provided an upset Wednesday, mixing up play sufficiently to distract No. 9 seed Tomas Berdych for a straight-set win.

Another unseeded winner was hot-handed Russian qualifier Evgeny Korolev, who following up his win over Carlos Moya earlier in the week with a 6-3, 6-0 pasting of Spaniard Fernando Vicente.

Thursday's match-ups on the Barcelona dirt are (3) Coria vs. Almagro, (10) Ferrero vs. (WC) A.Costa in an all-Spanish, (1) Nadal vs. (Q) Navarro Pastor in another all-ESP, (6) Robredo vs. (12) Verdasco in yet another all-ESP, (Q) Korolev vs. Karlovic, (5) Ferrer vs. Wawrinka, Mathieu vs. (4) Stepanek, and Portas vs. (7) Nieminen.