Undaunted by the regularity with which seeds were tumbling in the XL Capital Bermuda Open, the tournament?s number-one player Luis Horna advanced to the quarter-finals with few hiccups yesterday.

Though being extended to three sets by exciting teenage pro Frank Dancevic of Canada, the top seed comfortably triumphed 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 in the last second-round match.

Centre court was well entertained by the two hard-hitting and athletic players who stretched themselves to the limit to keep points going even when their reaching the ball seemed most improbable.

Peruvian Horna wasted no time in putting his younger rival under pressure, breaking the 19-year-old?s serve in the very first game of the match. That advantage held up for the set as Dancevic shook of any nerves to prove himself a worthy opponent.

Just how worthy Horna realised in the second set when, having kept apace with Dancevic until the 11th game, he inexplicably produced a rush of unforced errors with undisciplined strokes and a double fault to hand Dancevic the set at 7-5.

Chastising himself for this lapse, Horna resumed his mission with full focus in the third set and sped to a 4-1 lead. Dancevic, though he continued to stun with some awesome winners, was wilting as Horna?s power and guile took control.

?It was a very good match. We both played a good game. Dancevic is a very young, talented player and I knew it would be tough.

?I?m not playing my best tennis but I?m still winning and that?s very important. I think that mentally I have a lot of confidence now and this is good,? said 23-year-old Horna.

He disclosed that he intentionally set out to seize the lead quickly in the third set and did so when the opportunity arose.

?The first game was very important. He was serving at 30-0 and I was able to break. I figured he was a little tired and I was feeling a bit looser and confident. That was the key.?

Horna scoffed at the idea that he was the firm favourite now given his seeding and the fact that he was one of handful of top players to survive two rounds.

?Everybody here is very good and this is a tough tournament and being top seed is not very important. Right now my serve and forehand are very good but I will be playing (Davide) Sanguinetti (of Italy) and we will see. I have never played him before,? he said.

Baby-faced Dancevic noted, that in the deciding set, it would have been hard to recover after Horna broke him twice in succession.

?When I was down 4-1 with two breaks, yeah, I was definitely playing catch-up. I played a bit defensive and it might have cost me the match but overall I think I had an okay week.

?I played well in my first match and I?m a little disappointed about going down today but I feel good about my game,? he said.