Rafael Nadal easily beat US qualifier Hugo Armando 6-1, 6-2 on Wednesday at the Mercedes Cup to extend his winning streak on clay to 30 matches.
The French Open champion reached the third round, slamming an overhead to keep alive a streak dating back to April.
"Things are going great. I played more aggressively than usual and didn't make many mistakes, which is important on clay," Nadal said.
The 19-year-old Spaniard is chasing his sixth straight title on clay and eighth overall this year, which would match top-ranked Roger Federer's tour best.
Only seven of 14 seeds at the 614,000-euro (US$737,000) event won on Wednesday.
Second-seeded Nikolay Davydenko beat Spain's Ruben Ramirez-Hidalgo 6-4, 6-1 to reach the third round, while last year's French Open champion Gaston Gaudio, seeded third, rolled past Germany's Andreas Beck 6-3, 6-3.
Davydenko said his two victories at the weekend in Russia's Davis Cup quarterfinal win over France boosted his confidence after a wrist injury.
"My wrist is OK. I got a lot of confidence from being the Russian No. 1," the seventh-ranked Davydenko said.
Fourth-seeded Tommy Robredo of Spain fought back to oust Italy's Potito Starace 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-2, while sixth-seeded Jiri Novak beat Romania's Razvan Sabau 4-6, 6-4, 6-0.
Nadal will face Fernando Verdasco, who ousted Igor Andreev, the Russian who handed him his last loss on clay in the Valencia quarterfinals. The Spaniard won 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (5).
Another win for Nadal would push the 19-year-old into a four-way tie for the sixth longest streak on clay with Bjorn Borg, Mats Wilander and Guillermo Coria.
Nadal said he was surprised by his own consistency this year.
"I don't go up, I don't go down," Nadal said. "I'm young and I'm motivated for every tournament. I love to play and I love the competition."
Australian tennis ace Lleyton Hewitt and his pregnant soap star fiancee Bec Cartwright completed their love match yesterday -- tying the knot in a lavish ceremony at the landmark Sydney Opera House.
Former Wimbledon and U.S. Open champion Hewitt, the world's No. 2-ranked tennis player, proposed to Cartwright -- a longtime cast member of Australian soap opera Home and Away -- just hours after losing the Australian Open final to Russian Marat Safin at Melbourne Park in January.
The couple had been dating for six weeks before Hewitt proposed. Hewitt, 24, had been engaged to Belgian tennis player Kim Clijsters until last October.
Hundreds of fans gathered outside the Opera House missed seeing the couple, as Hewitt and Cartwright, 21, arrived separately and were driven directly into a carpark beneath the venue.
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