At age 33, David Ferrer is still going strong. The Spaniard, seeded second, routed Argentine wild card Renzo Olivo 6-2, 6-2 at the Argentina Open on Thursday to move into the quarter-finals. Ferrer needed only 72 minutes to advance.

In the speedy win over the World No. 151, the Javea native showed off his remarkable consistency against lower-ranked players. Last year, he only lost one ATP World Tour match on clay against a player ranked outside the Top 5 (Andujar, Barcelona SFs). Since turning pro in 2000, he has won more than 75 per cent of matches against opponents who trail him in the Emirates ATP Rankings.

Next up for the efficient Spaniard is eighth seed Pablo Cuevas, who saw off Santiago Giraldo 6-4, 6-2 in 85 minutes. Giraldo was looking for his first win over Cuevas since 2006, but was defeated after the Uruguayan broke him four times in nine opportunities.

Ferrer holds a 2-0 lead in his FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry against Cuevas and has never dropped a set against his quarter-final opponent.

Viktor Troicki is one win away from equalling his best performance at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament after knocking out Hyeon Chung, one of four teenagers in the Top 100 of the Emirates ATP Rankings, 7-6(5), 6-2 in 90 minutes to maintain his early season form.

The two-time Sydney champion, who also finished runner-up to Roberto Bautista Agut in last week’s Sofia final, now goes on to meet the oldest player in the draw, 34-year-old Nicolas Mahut, on Friday. Troicki is hoping to better his 2011 run to the Rotterdam semi-finals (l. to Soderling). Mahut overcame fellow Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 7-5, 6-2 in their fourth meeting.

“Today was a really tough match and I was fortunate to win the first set, saving three break points,” said Mahut. “I only had one and I got it. I was just focused on holding serve and I’m happy to go through. I feel great, but I know it’s going to be tough against Troicki, who I lost to in the Sydney quarter-finals [last month].”