Escude closed the first-round match by winning 12 of the final 13 games to beat top seed Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain, 5-7, 6-1, 6-0, at the hardcourt event.

In the lone second-round contest Wednesday, Bohdan Ulihrach of the Czech Republic stunned third seed Marat Safin of Russia, 1-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Escude avenged his loss to Ferrero in their only previous meeting. The Spaniard dismissed the Frenchman in straight sets on the way to finishing as the runner-up at the 2000 Barcelona claycourt event.

A finalist at last week's Marseille Open, Escude has jumped up to 11th in the 2002 ATP Champions Race with his strong start to the year. He also reached the semifinals at the Milan Indoor, falling to eventual champion Davide Sanguinetti.