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Metz, France (SportsNetwork.com) – Two-time champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga notched a second-round win Wednesday at the Moselle Open men’s tennis event.
After receiving a bye into the second round, the top-seeded French favorite moved into the quarterfinals with a 7-6 (9-7), 6-4 victory over Luxembourg left-hander Gilles Muller on the indoor hardcourts at Metz Arena.
Two-time winner Gilles Simon beat the then reigning two-time champ Tsonga in last year’s all-French finale.
Frenchmen have won five straight and seven of the 11 titles in Metz.
Meanwhile, 2008 runner-up Paul-Henri Mathieu of France upended fourth-seeded Czech Lukas Rosol 6-3, 6-4 in the second round and fifth-seeded Frenchman Jeremy Chardy posted a first-round win by eliminating wild card and fellow countryman Nicolas Mahut 7-6 (7-5), 7-5.
In other first-round play involving seeds, No. 6 Joao Sousa of Portugal pasted Croat Ivan Dodig 6-2, 6-2 and No. 8 Belgian David Goffin drilled qualifier Florent Serra of France 6-2, 6-2.
Also in the opening round, German Jan-Lennard Struff overcame Serb Dusan Lajovic 6-7 (6-8), 6-3, 6-3 and Finnish veteran Jarkko Nieminen handled Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky 6-1, 6-4.
On Thursday, second-seeded French favorite Gael Monfils will face Poland’s Michal Przysiezny in a second-round affair. Monfils titled here in 2009 and was the runner-up in 2005.
The 2014 Metz titlist will earn $100,000.