Richard Gasquet takes on Denis Istomin at the Sydney International as he eyes a place in the semi-finals.
Gasquet is the third seed this week and he'll have his eyes on a place in the final after the bottom half of the draw was blown wide open on Wednesday. Second seed John Isner was sent tumbling, losing a big serving clash with Bobby Reynolds and Radek Stepanek also crashed out in three sets to Jarkko Nieminen.
Things really couldn't have worked out better for Gasquet particularly with the form he's in right now. He played a leading role as France reached the Hopman Cup final last week, beating both Fernando Verdasco and Lleyton Hewitt and he crushed Italy's Fabio Fognini 6-2, 6-1 in his opening match here.
Sydney holds fond memories for Gasquet as he made the final two years ago. The draw opened up for him back then too and he didn't drop a set before coming a-cropper against Marcos Baghdatis in the final.
Gasquet will be strong favourite against the powerful Uzbek qualifier Istomin. He's won both their matches in the past, beating him 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 at the Australian Open three years ago.
Prediction: Gasquet in two.
