Ferrer, Monfils Advance In Doha; Gasquet Wins 300th Match

© AFP/Getty ImagesRichard Gasquet became the eighth Frenchman to reach 300 match wins.

World No. 5 David Ferrer dismissed qualifier Tobias Kamke 6-3, 6-2 in the second round of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open on Wednesday in Doha. Ferrer won 48 percent of his return points, breaking Kamke four times to ease into the quarter-finals with a 79-minute victory.

Ferrer, making his second appearance at the ATP World Tour 250 hard-court event, was the 2012 season leader in titles and match wins. He is bidding to lift his 19th trophy this week. The Spaniard will aim to reach the semi-finals when he plays Italy’s Paolo Lorenzi, who defeated Czech Lukas Rosol 6-0, 6-4.

Second seed Richard Gasquet battled past Slovenia’s Grega Zemlja 6-7(7), 6-4, 7-6(3) in two hours and 44 minutes to record his 300th match win. He is the eighth Frenchman to attain the milestone.

“It was a big tie-break for me, I played well,” Gasquet said. “It was very tough. It was so close [and] it was very difficult. I knew he was a good player, so I fought a lot and I am happy to win.”

Zemlja served for the match at 5-3 in the third set, but was broken to love. The 10th-ranked Gasquet edged ahead in the deciding tie-break to win his season debut. He will play Lukas Lacko next. The Slovakian eliminated sixth seed Viktor Troicki with a 6-3, 7-5 win. Lacko broke the Serbian four times to advance in 78 minutes.

Former champion Nikolay Davydenko upset fourth seed Mikhail Youzhny 7-5, 6-3. In the all-Russian contest, Davydenko broke serve twice from six opportunities to claim victory in one hour and 40 minutes.

"In the first set was I feeling a little bit lazy because it was still day and sunny and warmer. Then it started to get cooler," reflected Davydenko. "I felt like I started to have more power and have better concentration. My movement started to be better."

The 31-year-old Davydenko, a former World No. 3 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, has a 23-8 record at this ATP World Tour 250 hard-court tournament. He won the title in 2010, defeating Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal back-to-back, and finished runner-up in 2011 (l. to Federer). Davydenko will look to continue his success at the event when he plays Simone Bolelli. The Italian overcame Lukasz Kubot 2-6, 6-4, 6-4. 

Gael Monfils topped third seed Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-4, 2-6, 6-4. Monfils, who reached the final last year (l. to Tsonga), won five fewer points than Kohlschreiber but prevailed in two hours and two minutes to clinch his eighth win in nine meetings with the German.

“In the start, he was very aggressive. And honestly, I was a bit scared because I saw the ball going very fast, and I was expecting long rallies,” said Monfils. “I had to adapt, change my tactic. And that's why I think I became more aggressive. I tried to play a bit more loopy in the end to give me time and make him play up there, because he had very, very clean winners when I was playing under his belt.”

In the quarter-finals, Monfils will face Daniel Brands. The German rallied from a set down to beat Egyptian wild card Mohamed Safwat 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.

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