Monfils advances to Vienna quarters

VIENNA, Oct. 9 (UPI) -- France's Gael Monfils, a semifinalist at the French Open this summer, was among Thursday's second-round winners at the Bank Austria Tennis Trophy in Vienna.

The eighth-seeded Monfils continued his upstart season with a 6-4, 6-3 victory against Czech Radek Stepanek, and will play No. 2 seed Fernando Gonzalez in one of Friday's quarterfinals.

Gonzalez, an Olympic silver medalist in August, advanced to the quarters on Wednesday with a 4-6, 7-6 (13-11), 6-1 victory against unseeded Ernests Gulbis of Latvia.

Elsewhere Thursday, Austria's Jurgen Melzer topped former world No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain 7-6 (7-4), 6-3; and Spain's Feliciano Lopez downed Colombia's Santiago Giraldo by 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 scores.

Friday's other quarters feature fifth-seeded Fernando Verdasco of Spain against Philipp Kohlschreiber, who won his match in a walkover with No. 3 seed Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina; German Phillip Petzschner faces former top-ranked Carlos Moya of Spain; and Melzer meets Lopez.

Del Potro pulled out with a toe injury.