Spaniards into last eight

Jiri Vanek upset sixth seed Andreas Vinciguerra

Spain's Tommy Robredo and Albert Costa moved into the last eight of the Sicily International with straight-sets victories in Palermo.

Robredo, the fourth seed, overcame Hugo Armando of the United States 7-6 6-2 while the fifth-seeded Costa routed Italian Federico Luzzi 6-2 6-1.

"It was a very difficult first set," Robredo said.

"After that, I started to play better and took control of the match. He's a very tough player."

Spanish players look set to dominate the final clay court event of the year with seven of the 12 remaining names in the draw hailing from Spain.

Robredo will face Jiri Vanek in the quarter-finals after the Czech upset number six seed Andreas Vinciguerra 7-6 6-2.

Costa now meets David Nalbandian after the Argentine teenager defeated Spain's Fernando Vicente 6-4 6-4.

In the final first-round match, seventh seed Franco Squillari of Argentina defeated Spain's Juan Balcells 7-6 (8/6) 5-7 6-2.