Kuala Lumpur - Gael Monfils and Richard Gasquet combined to pace France into a pair of quarter-final spots at the Malaysian Open Thursday as both players speeded up their acclimation to the time change after competing last week at home. Fifth-seed Monfils, winner of the Metz ATP title, dispatched Argentine Martin Vassallo Arguello 6-4, 6-2.
The 23-year-old ATP number 13 moved into a last-eight clash with top seed Nikolay Davydenko, whom he last played in 2007.
The unseeded Gasquet reversed his fortune against Swede Joachim Johansson with a 4-6, 7-6 (7-1), 6-2 recovery to reach the quarters for the second week in succession.
Second seed Fernando Verdasco stopped Slovak Karol Beck 6-4, 6-0 while Chile's Fernando Gonzalez, the number four, defeated Rohan Bopanna of India 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.
Czech sixth seed Tomas Berdych joined the party as he put out German Simon Greul 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.
Berdych will face his next test against Sweden's Roland Garros finalist Robin Soderling, the third seed.
"I'll try to play my best tennis and serve well," said the Czech who turned 24 a fortnight ago. "I'll look for chances to break his serve.
"Soderling's a very good player, especially indoors, so I'll have to play my best."
Gasquet survived a barrage of 24 aces off the Johansson racket as one of the biggest servers in the game tried in desperation to stay afloat. But the Frenchman rose to the occasion by out-aceing with 26 to his account to post the win in a shade under two hours.
"It was really tough, he had two break points at 4-4 in the second set," said Gasquet. "If he had broken my serve the match would probably have been over.
"He was playing better than me in the first two sets. He served really well. He is a very dangerous player."
Johansson has struggled with several years of upset body injures and last played on the ATP 11 months ago in Stockholm. He has filled his time since on the Challenger circuit and caddying for his pro golfer fiance, expecting a child in early 2010.
Johansson hung tough as he lost serve only twice on 11 break points and broke Gasquet once during the epic.
