5 Feb 2010, 0458 hrs IST

Sports News: Johannesburg: Indian numero uno tennis player Somdev Devvarman sailed into the quarterfinals of the South Africa Open, beating Thiago Alves of Brazil in straight sets here on Thursday.

Somdev, ranked 162 in the world, took just 67 minutes to beat Alves 6-4, 6-1.

He will now take on second seed and World number18 Spaniard David Ferrer, who prevailed over qualifier Filip Prpic of Sweden 6-3, 6-4 to enter the last eight stage.

"I really like playing here. My opponent was not as healthy as he wanted to be, but even then I played a good match and I am happy to pull through," Somdev said after the match.