Simon, Blake advance in Estoril Open

ESTORIL, Portugal, May 7 (UPI) -- Top-seeded Gilles Simon dominated in the first set Thursday en route to a second-round victory at the $595,000 Estoril Open in Portugal.

Simon dropped just 13 points in the first set of a 6-0, 7-5 win over Fabio Fognini. That included winning all 13 points when Fognini was on his second serve.

Simon moved into a quarterfinal match Friday against seventh-seeded Albert Montanes, who dispatched Simon Greul 6-2, 6-2 in just more than an hour.

No. 4-seeded James Blake was a 7-6 (8-6), 6-2 winner over Marc Gicquel. His match Friday against eighth-seeded Florent Serra will mark Blake's first quarterfinal appearance since February. Serra was a 6-3,1-6, 6-3 winner over Juan Monaco in the second round.

The other quarters Friday pit second-seeded Nikolay Davydenko against No. 6-seeded Mardy Fish and Oscar Hernandez versus Paul Capdeville.

The tournament continues through Sunday when the champion will win $96,000.