Gilles Simon plays qualifier Guillaume Rufin for a place in the semi-finals of the Open Sud de France in Montpellier.
Simon is the second seed this week and after a disappointing Australian Open, he'll be glad to be back on his preferred indoor courts again. The world number twelve enjoyed a comfy start to the week, coasting past Flavio Cipolla 6-3, 6-2. Simon's adept returning game was top notch as he broke serve three times to ensure his passage.
However there was a seismic upset elsewhere in the bottom section of the draw, as world number 15 Feliciano Lopez was sent crashing out by the world number 209. Rufin may spend most of his time competing in challengers and futures but he pulled off the result of his life.
There's no question Lopez was not at his best. The Spaniard may have improved with age but he seems only capable of producing his highest level in the slams and Masters 1000 events. Most of his results in the ATP 250 tournaments these days, belittle his talent.
However we should not take anything away from Rufin who will get a huge confidence boost from the way he tackled the fearsome Lopez serve.
Even so he'll find himself in a completely different kind of match against Simon and the second seed should have too much guile for the youngster.
