2nd-seeded Tsonga and 3rd-seeded Gasquet reach quarterfinals

Second seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France needed only 45 minutes to reach the quarterfinals of the Open de Sud de France, swatting aside countryman Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-1, 6-2 on Thursday.

Tsonga, a former Australian Open finalist, is ranked 14 but doubles expert Herbert is ranked only 96 in singles.

It proved to be a total mismatch as Tsonga hit seven aces, won 95 percent of points on first serve losing only one point on it all match and broke Herbert’s serve four times while not facing a single break point.

Tsonga next faces Russian 20-year-old Daniil Medvedev, who beat eighth-seeded Fernando Verdasco 6-3, 6-3. Medvedev was in clinical mood, taking all four of his chances on the Spaniard’s serve in addition to eight aces.