Marseille, France (SportsNetwork.com) - No. 3 seed Ernests Gulbis was a hard-fought second-round winner, while fourth seed Andreas Seppi was sent packing by Michael Llodra on Thursday at the Open 13 indoor hardcourt tennis event.
The sweet-swinging Latvian Gulbis launched 23 aces before outlasting rising Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 in 2 hours, 15 minutes at Palais des Sports.
Upsets came when the long-time French favorite Llodra dismissed the Italian Seppi 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 and German Jan-Lennard Struff took out seventh-seeded 2010 Marseille runner-up Julien Benneteau, of France, 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-3.
Llodra was the 2010 Marseille champion and is a two-time runner-up at this tournament.
Also on Thursday, fifth-seeded Croat Ivan Dodig overcame German Tobias Kamke 6-7 (4-7), 6-0, 6-3, sixth-seeded Frenchman Edouard Roger-Vasselin snuck past Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky 7-6 (7-2), 6-4, and eighth-seeded Frenchman Nicolas Mahut topped Lithuanian qualifier Ricardas Berankis 7-6 (7-5), 6-3.
Friday's quarterfinals will pit top-seeded French star Richard Gasquet against Dodig, second-seeded French star Jo-Wilfried Tsonga versus his compatriot Roger-Vasselin, Gulbis against Mahut, and Llodra versus Struff.
Tsonga beat Czech Tomas Berdych in last year's marquee final to capture a second Marseille title in five years.
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