Mantilla out, but not down
Good for Felix Mantilla. The wild card made it to the second round and faced old opponent Carlos Moya fair and square. He won the first set and looked good in the third. That was until Moya broke Mantilla’s serve in the seventh game of that set and went on to win the match 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. Next up for Moya is David Nalbandian.
Rafael Nadal’s victories on clay keeps on rising. It’s now at 68. He swiftly ended Kristof Vliegen’s Godo Open campaign. 
Unfortunately for Vliegen this was his second encounter with the red hot Nadal in the past week. Nadal won in straight sets 6-1, 6-2. Chances are pretty high that we will see that number reach 69 by week’s end.
Even though Nadal continues his march, the real story today was the confidence of Mantilla to enter this tournament as a wild card and fight to the second round. Felix made an impressive return to his hometown. If for nothing else his comeback after 18 months of fighting skin cancer makes him a true champion. Felix, keep swinging that patented backhand. We’re glad you’re back.
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