Brisbane, Australia (SportsNetwork.com) - Third seed Gilles Simon was an upset victim, while former world No. 1 Aussie star Lleyton Hewitt was an upset winner Thursday at the Brisbane International tennis event.
Romanian qualifier Marius Copil drove out the 19th-ranked Frenchman Simon 7-5, 6-3, while the unseeded world No. 60 Hewitt upended sixth-seeded Spaniard Feliciano Lopez 7-5, 6-3 at Queensland Tennis Centre.
Also on Thursday, eighth-seeded Jeremy Chardy got past fellow Frenchman Nicolas Mahut 7-5, 6-7 (4-7), 6-3 and Aussie wild card Samuel Groth overcame lucky loser Pierre-Hugues Herbert 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-5) at this hardcourt Australian Open tune-up. The Frenchman Herbert replaced fourth- seeded Kevin Anderson in the draw when the tall South African pulled out, citing a viral infection.
Friday's quarterfinal matchups will pit top-seeded former No. 1 and four-time Aussie Open champ Roger Federer against Aussie Marinko Matosevic, second- seeded Japanese Kei Nishikori versus Croat Marin Cilic, Chardy against Groth, and the 1998 and 2000 Brisbane champion and 1999 runner-up Hewitt versus Copil.
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