Nicolas Mahut may be ranked No.100 right now, but ignore the veteran Frenchman on an indoor hard court at your peril.
In this Marseille event the four-time ATP title winner defeated 6th seed Gilles Muller in the second round 3-6, 6-2, 6-4. With both players know for favouring the serve-volley tactic, it made for a classic match.
Muller secured a single break of serve in the first set, but never engineered another chance to break Mahut. Mahut then broke three times from six opportunities in the following two sets to reach the quarter-finals.
The 36 year-old has had success on the surface, and at this time of year before too. He was a semi-finalist in Rotterdam in 2016, reaching the last four as a qualifier.
It is the first time since Metz in 2016 that Mahut has reached the quarter-finals or better away from grass at this level.
Mahut will play the winner of the match between second seed Stan Wawrinka and qualifier Ilya Ivashka. Top seed Roberto Bautista Agut is already out after being beaten by Julien Benneteau.
Other matches saw 9th seed Karen Khachanov thrash Mischa Zverev 6-1, 6-2. Paris-Bercy finalist Filip Krajinovic defeated former Top 10 star Gilles Simon. Khachanov will play Benneteau in the top quarter-final tomorrow. Krajinovic will face 3rd seed Lucas Pouille.
Tomas Berdych vs Stefano Travaglia and Stan Wawrinka’s match highlight the evening session in the south of France.
