Marseille: Three Frenchies And A Serb Advance To The Semis

Open 13

Gilles Simon had no problems dismissing countryman, Julien Benneteau in straight sets. The entire match took 79 minutes to complete. He will play another countryman, Michael Llodra in the semifinals.


AP (both images)

Micheal Llodra defeated Mikhail Youzhny in two straight-set tiebreaks. Llodra did a good job of taking care of his serve by saving 8 of 9 break points. There were no breaks in the first set, and the two traded breaks in the second. Youzhny's second serve provided the difference in the match, and Llodra took advantage.

Llodra had a great day today because he also advanced into the doubles semifinals with partner, Arnaud Clement. He will play Gilles Simon in the singles semifinals, where he leads their head-to-head 2-0. His last win over Simon came in January 2008 in Adelaide but before Simon broke through last year, by winning three titles and making it the final in Madrid.


AP

After 68 minutes of work, Novak Djokovic had an easy win over German Mischa Zverev in straight sets. The top seed has quietly taken care of business this tournament, his first since his controversial Australian Open retirement in the quarterfinals.


AP

After winning his first two matches of the season in Marseille, Feliciano Lopez played a respectable match. He took Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to three sets.


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In the end, Tsonga overpowered the Spanish lefty. After serving 18 aces and never facing break point, Tsonga pushed Lopez aside. He will face Novak Djokovic next in the semis. Tsonga has had the Serb's number of late, where he has won their last three meetings, but the Serb's only win over the Frenchman came during the 2008 Australian Open championship.