Gasquet, Raonic, Simon land in Bangkok quarters

Published November 20, 2014

Second seed Richard Gasquet, third- seeded Milos Raonic and former champion Gilles Simon were a trio of second- round winners Thursday at the $551,000 Thailand Open tennis event.

The French Gasquet had to come from behind to stave off promising Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov 5-7, 7-5, 6-4 in 2 hours, 15 minutes on Day 4. Dimitrov blasted 21 aces in a losing effort.

The Canadian slugger Raonic got past 6-foot-10 fellow massive server Ivo Karlovic, of Croatia, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4, while the fourth-seeded French Simon subdued Japan's Go Soeda 6-4, 6-4 on the hardcourts at Impact Arena. Raonic fired 14 aces past Karlovic, who popped nine in a losing cause.

Simon was the 2009 Bangkok titlist.

Meanwhile, fifth-seeded Spaniard Fernando Verdasco dismissed last year's runner-up Donald Young of the United States 7-5, 6-4, on-the-mend Frenchman Gael Monfils upended sixth-seeded Serb Viktor Troicki 7-5, 7-5, and eighth- seeded Aussie Bernard Tomic overcame Israeli veteran Dudi Sela 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. Young lost to Andy Murray in last year's Bangkok finale. Troicki was the '09 runner-up here to Simon.

Friday's quarterfinals will pit top-seeded Serb Janko Tipsarevic versus Verdasco; Gasquet against Tomic; Raonic versus seventh-seeded Finn Jarkko Nieminen; and Simon against his fellow Frenchman Monfils. Nieminen was a Bangkok runner-up two years ago.

The 2012 winner of this $551,000 tournament will collect $99,465.

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