Chennai, India (SportsNetwork.com) - The season-opening Chennai Open lost its' No. 3 seed when Fabio Fognini exited his first draw of 2014, while fourth seed Benoit Paire avoided an upset Thursday to reach the quarterfinals in India.
Indian wild card Yuki Bhambri was leading Fognini 6-1, 5-5 when the Italian retired with a right thigh injury, while the Frenchman Paire dismissed Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-1, 6-4 on the hardcourts at SDAT Tennis Stadium.
Also in the second round, fifth-seeded Canadian Vasek Pospisil reached the quarters via walkover when Taiwan's Yen-Hsun Lu pulled out of their scheduled match due to a right thigh injury, and sixth-seeded Spaniard Marcel Granollers handled Indian qualifier Ramkumar Ramanathan 6-2, 6-4 to reach the round of eight.
Friday's quarterfinals will pit top-seeded 2011 champion and 2010 runner-up Stan Wawrinka against Slovenian Aljaz Bedene, Paire versus Granollers, Pospisil against Bhambri, and seventh-seeded Frenchman Edouard Roger-Vasselin versus Israeli Dudi Sela.
Chennai serves as a tune-up for the Australian Open.
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