Madrid, Oct 16: England football skipper David Beckham exchanged the bitter hostility of Istanbul for the raucous atmosphere of the Rockodromo Arena here as he watched Spain's tennis king Juan Carlos Ferrero battle his way into the third round of the Madrid Masters.
French Open champion and world number one Ferrero had to save two match points yesterday to scrape a dramatic 6-3 2-6 7-6 (7/4) victory over veteran South African Wayne Ferreira in the 2.45-million-euro tournament.
The top seed, who had trailed in the opening set 1-3 as Real Madrid star Beckham took his seat, lost the second set and put up a desperate battle in the third in front of 9,000 screaming fans.
The second-round win kept Ferrero's world number one spot safe for the time being, with Andy Roddick and Roger Federer still breathing down his neck.
The late arrival after the third game of the high-profile Beckham, and his showbusiness wife, caused a stir at the Rockodromo along with the presence of other Real Madrid players.



Ferreira had his own problems with the crowd later in the match as he squandered two match points with the South African star angrily hitting out at the spectators' behaviour as he tried to close out the tie.



"The crowd should be ashamed of themselves, it was a disgraceful performance," said Ferreira.



Once Ferrero had saved the match points in the ninth game of the final set, the stage was set for a comeback by the popular top seed.


Bureau Report