Gicquel, Benneteau advance to Casablanca quarterfinals

CASABLANCA, Morocco -- Marc Gicquel beat Nicolas Mahut 6-2, 6-4 in an all-French match Wednesday to reach the quarterfinals of the Grand Prix Hassan II.

The fifth-seeded Gicquel, who also reached the Zagreb Open quarters in February, will next play No. 3 Julien Benneteau of France, who downed Michael Russell of the United States 6-3, 6-3.

Also, Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo defeated Thierry Ascione of France 6-4, 7-6 (7-4). The Spaniard will next face Sebastien Grosjean of France, who rallied from a set down and an early break to oust No. 6 Arnaud Clement 4-6, 7-5, 6-1.

Clement broke Grosjean in the opening game of the match and in the third game of the second set. But Grosjean broke Clement in the fourth game of the second set and saved two break points in the next game.