Simon sails through in Lyon as top seed Tsonga goes out

Lyon: Second seed Gilles Simon kept alive his chances of reaching the World Tour Finals by beating fellow Frenchman Julien Benneteau 7-6 6-3 in Friday`s Lyon Grand Prix quarter-finals.

Top seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, though, was knocked out 5-7 6-4 7-6 by wildcard Arnaud Clement in another all-French clash. Clement survived a match point and a barrage of 27 aces to prevail after two hours 47 minutes against world number eight Tsonga. Simon, bidding to qualify for the season-ending World Tour Finals in London next month, proved too strong from the baseline for Benneteau.The world number 12 next plays fellow Frenchman Michael Llodra, who beat compatriot Marc Gicquel 7-6 6-4. "This match is going to be very interesting since he has a 3-0 record against me," Simon told reporters. "It is hard to play against him indoors." Llodra served 13 aces in his win over Gicquel. Saturday`s other semi-final will feature Clement and third-seeded Croatian Ivan Ljubicic, who put out Frenchman Florent Serra 7-6 6-2. Bureau Report