Melbourne, Australia, Jan 21 : Fifth-seeded David Ferrer has moved into the fourth round of the Australian Open with a 7-5, 6-2, 6-1 win over No. 27 Juan Ignacio Chela.
Ferrer reached the semifinals at Melbourne Park last year, where he beat fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals before losing to Andy Murray.
That equaled his best performance at a major -- he lost to Novak Djokovic in the 2007 U.S. Open semifinals.
The 29-year-old Ferrer came into the season's first major after successfully defending his title at Auckland last week and is now on a seven-match winning streak.
