Monfils reaches QFs on home soil

Published May 02, 2016

Marseille, France (SportsNetwork.com) - Flashy Frenchman Gael Monfils was an easy second-round winner Wednesday at the Open 13 tennis event.

The seventh-seeded former top-10 star mauled Russian Andrey Kuznetsov 6-3, 6-2 on the indoor surface at Marseille's Palais des Sports.

A pair of seeds notched first-round wins on Day 3, as No. 5 Frenchman and 2007 champion Gilles Simon was leading compatriot Pierre-Hugues Herbert 7-5, 2-0 when the qualifier retired and No. 6 Belgian David Goffin doused tall Pole Jerzy Janowicz 6-4, 6-2.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky outlasted German Jan-Lennard Struff 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 to land in the quarterfinals and Simone Bolelli cooled off hot 19-year-old fellow Italian Luca Vanni 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) to reach the second round. The teenager Vanni was a stunning finalist in Sao Paulo last week.

The 2015 Marseille champ will collect $117,000.

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