Tennis

Simon reaches quarterfinals in Rotterdam

Published Feb. 13, 2013 11:17 a.m. ET

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Gilles Simon became the first player to reach the quarterfinals of the ABN AMRO tournament by beating Italian qualifier Matteo Viola 6-3, 6-1 on Wednesday.

The fifth-seeded Frenchman will face the winner of the second-round match between Martin Klizan and Igor Sijsling, who upset Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the first round.

Marcos Baghdatis reached the second round when his French opponent Benoit Paire retired while trailing 6-0, 6-7 (3), 4-0.

Another French player, fourth-seeded Richard Gasquet, beat Viktor Troicki of Serbia 7-6 (3), 6-1 to reach the second round.

Later Wednesday, defending champion Roger Federer will play Grega Zemlja in his first match of the tournament.

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