Tsonga, Gasquet reach Metz quarters
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Top seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga landed in the quarterfinals at the $550,000 Moselle Open tennis event.
Tsonga cruised past French qualifier Mathieu Rodrigues 6-3, 6-4 in second- round action on the indoor hardcourts at Metz Expo Park.
He next plays another Frenchman, Nicolas Mahut, who took down 2003 champion Arnaud Clement 3-6, 7-5, 6-3. Mahut is in the quarterfinals for the first time since July 2009 at Newport.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Second-seeded Frenchman Richard Gasquet beat Belgian veteran Olivier Rochus 6-2, 6-1. He will face eighth-seeded Gilles Muller in the quarters.
Xavier Malisse, the No. 6 seed, defeated Russian Igor Kunitsyn 6-4, 6-2. The Belgian will play in the quarterfinals for the first time this season. His opponent will be third-seeded Alexandr Dolgopolov.
Dutch qualifier Igor Sijsling upset seventh-seeded German Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-4, 7-5. Sijsling will face 2005 Metz titlist Ivan Ljubicic in his first-career quarterfinal appearance.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The 2011 Moselle Open champion will collect $100,000.