No. 1 Roddick, No. 3 Tsonga, No. 4 Simon win in France; No. 2 Gasquet upset

Former champion and top-seed Andy Roddick (pictured) got by his friend and fellow American Robby Ginepri on Thursday at the Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon in France to advance to the quarterfinals that will take place on Friday. No. 3 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and in-form fourth-seed Gilles Simon were also winners on Thursday, while No. 2 Richard Gasquet was upset in his second round match.

Backed behind a dazzling 26 aces, Roddick defeated Ginepri, 7-6(5), 7-6(3), in 98 minutes to reach his 12th quarterfinal of the season. Roddick could not convert on his six break point chances, while Ginepri was unsuccessful on his two break point chances but the more experienced Roddick got the job done when it mattered the most in both tiebreakers. Roddick, who has won three titles this year, improves his record to 47-15 on the year, as he still hopes to lock up one of the final three spots for the Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai. Roddick, who improves to 8-1 lifetime against Ginepri, has played in the year-end championship five times in his career minus 2005 when he was injured. Ginepri falls to 25-19 with his loss on Thursday to Roddick. In the quarterfinals, the Austin, Texas resident will face No. 7 seed Robin Soderling, who defeated Belgian qualifier Christophe Rochus, 6-1, 6-2, behind 20 aces.

Frenchman Tsonga, who was a surprise Australian Open finalist, grinded past veteran Fabrice Santoro, 6-2, 5-7, 6-3, in one hour and 52 minutes to advance to his fifth quarterfinal of the season. Tsonga hammered 16 aces compared to Santoro’s four aces, while also breaking serve on three of four opportunities. Currently ranked No. 14 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings, Tsonga improves to 27-11 on the season. Next up for the exciting young Frenchman in the quarterfinals is former World No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero, who defeated No. 8 seed Paul-Henri Mathieu in 58 minutes by a score of, 6-4, 6-1. The quarterfinal clash between the pair will be their first meeting against each other.

Simon, last week’s finalist at the Mutua Madrilena Masters Madrid, struggled for a second straight match in Lyon but was again able to come out victorious as he defeated Italian Andreas Seppi, 7-6(5), 5-7, 6-4. The 23-year-old Nice native who has captured three ATP singles titles this year could move up to No. 8 in the ATP 2008 Race standings for the year-end championship if he defeats Josselin Ouanna in the quarterfinals. In his victory over Seppi, Simon served up 13 aces and won 77 percent of his first serve points. Simon was also able to break serve twice.

Another notable second round match saw Belgian Steve Darcis stun No. 2 seeded Frenchman Richard Gasquet, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(5). World No. 58 Darcis ended Gasquet’s hopes of winning a second Lyon title in three years. Darcis improves to 22-21 on the year on the way to his third quarterfinal of the year and will next do battle against Julien Benneteau for a place in the semifinals.