CASABLANCA, Morocco, April 11 (UPI) -- Top seed Guillermo Canas of Argentina overcame windy and chilly conditions Thursday to reach the quarterfinals of the $381,000 Grand Prix Hassan II
claycourt tennis event.
Canas advanced to the final eight with a 7-6 (8-6), 6-1 victory over Brazil's Andre Sa.
Moroccan Younes El Aynaoui, the No. 2 seed, overcame a slow start to defeat countryman Mounir El Aarej, 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 6-2.
A pair of French qualifiers reached the quarterfinals as Jean-Rene Lisnard defeated Michael Tabara of the Czech Republic, 6-3, 6-2, and 20-year-old Paul-Henri Mathieu ousted Georgia's Irakli Labadzi, 6-1, 7-5, to qualify for his first ATP Tour
quarterfinal. Mathieu will take on El Aynaoui Friday.
In other second-round action, fifth-seed Julian Boutter of France bounced Australian Wayne Authurs, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 and Russian Mikhail Youzhny topped Germany's Michael Kohlmann, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, and Hungary's Attila Savolt bested Spain's David Sanchez, 6-3, 6-4.
Anthony Dupuis became the third Frenchman to reach the last eight when he defeated ailing Moroccan Karim Alami, 6-4, 7-5.
Alami was forced to retire from his doubles match Wednesday due to a foot injury and the problem bothered him against Dupuis.