Halle, Germany – Second seed Richard Gasquet and reigning champion Tommy Haas of Germany were a pair of second-round winners Thursday at the $900,000 Gerry Weber Open, a grass-court Wimbledon tune-up.
The nifty Frenchman Gasquet leveled veteran Austrian left-hander Jurgen Melzer 6-3, 6-1, while the third-seeded Haas got past capable Latvian Ernests Gulbis 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 at Gerry Weber Stadium.
The one-time world No. 2 Haas stunned seven-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer in last year's Halle finale and also titled here in 2009.
Gasquet's quarterfinal opponent on Friday will be eighth-seeded German Florian Mayer, while Haas will take on former top-10 French star Gael Monfils.
In other Day-4 action, sixth-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber handled fellow German Tobias Kamke 6-4, 6-3 and Mayer mauled Argentine Leonardo Mayer 6-2, 6-3.
The 2011 champion and 2008 Halle runner-up Kohlschreiber's quarterfinal opponent will be Russian veteran Mikhail Youzhny.
One other quarterfinal on Friday will pit a third-seeded Federer against German Mischa Zverev. The reigning Wimbledon champion Federer has appeared in seven Gerry Weber finals, capturing five titles along the way.
This week's winner will earn $163,000.