TENNIS ITALIAN OPEN : Sanchez Reaches Quarterfinals in Rome

ROME — Ninth-seeded Emilio Sanchez defeated Wayne Ferreira 6-2, 6-2 Thursday to advance to the Italian Open quarterfinals while defending champion Thomas Muster blew a lead and was eliminated by Goran Prpic 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Muster, who won his first two matches of the year earlier in the tournament, was leading Prpic 3-0 in the second set when he fell apart and lost six straight games.

Alberto Mancini, a former Italian Open champion, was to face Holland’s Mark Koevermans in the night match. Fifth-seeded Sergi Bruguera, who dismantled Yannick Noah 6-1, 6-3, will play Christian Miniussi.

Two years ago, steaming off a victory at Monte Carlo, Mancini defeated Andre Agassi in five sets to win the Italian title.

This year, he had to play three tough qualifying matches last weekend to wrest a spot in the 64-player Rome draw.

“I’m feeling better with each match I play,” said the not-yet-22-year-old Argentine after his 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 upset of seventh-seeded Jonas Svensson Wednesday. “And I’m playing better and better.

“I’m playing really well. I needed a match like today’s to get me going.”

After four upsets on Wednesday, only four seeded players remain in the draw. The field is wide open.

Third-seeded Pete Sampras bowed out in three sets, losing 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 to Frenchman Fabrice Santoro.

Soviet player Alexander Volkov, the No. 11 seed, fell to Australia’s Richard Fromberg 7-5, 6-3. Prpic downed 13th-seeded Jakob Hlasek. And genial Frenchman Henri Leconte, who underwent a fourth back operation six months ago, beat No. 14 Magnus Gustafsson 6-0, 6-3.

Mancini finished off 1989 ranked ninth in the world. One year later, for no apparent reason, his ranking had plummeted to 130. When Mancini requested one of the five wild cards available at this year’s Italian Open, his request was denied.

“We think that the wild cards should go to good players who have fallen in the rankings because of injury, or perhaps who have been inactive,” said tournament organizer Cino Marchese. “When a player simply starts playing poorly, we don’t think this is reason to give him a wild card.”

The wild cards were awarded to Agassi, Noah and Italians Stefano Pescosolido (No. 95), Claudio Pistolesi (113) and Paolo Cane (180). And Mancini, who had managed an undistinguished record of four wins and four losses this year, had to suffer the slings and arrows of the qualifying rounds.

“I wouldn’t say that this is revenge,” Mancini said after the Svensson match. “I was a bit disappointed when I didn’t get the wild card. It’s all political. But it’s over with. Now all I want to think about is playing well.”

Against Svensson, Mancini was magnificent. Urged on by the partisan Rome crowd, he fought off five match points with Svensson serving at 5-3 in the second set.

“Of course it crossed my mind that I could lose,” said Mancini, currently ranked 105th in the world. “But with each match point I saved, and with the crowd cheering me, I began to believe that I could win.”

In the third set, Mancini began to look like the player who won consecutive tournaments in Monte Carlo and Rome two years ago. His hard, biting baseline shots whipped past the onrushing Svensson, dipping to land within inches of the corners or the baselines.

With Svensson serving at 5-5, Mancini stroked four straight passing winners to break to 6-5, then held serve to take the 2-hour, 20-minute match.

“I’ve played five matches so far in Rome,” he said. “But I’m not tired. And even if I were, a match like I played today would give me the charge to go on.”