Benneteau, Serra first to reach quarterfinals at Lyon Grand Prix

LYON, France -- Fifth-seeded Julien Benneteau of France and countryman Florent Serra reached the quarterfinals of the Lyon Grand Prix on Wednesday.

Serra upset No. 8 Albert Montanes of Spain 7-5, 6-3, while Benneteau beat qualifier Kevin Anderson 7-5, 6-2.

Serra's 11th ace converted his first match point, and Benneteau broke the South African's serve four times.

In first-round matches, No. 2 Gilles Simon of France had 14 aces in a 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5) victory against Simone Bolelli of Italy, and Nicolas Kiefer of Germany rallied from a set down to beat Sebastien Grosjean of France 4-6, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (2) in a match lasting nearly 2½ hours.

Also, 2006 champion Paul-Henri Mathieu defeated Leonardo Mayer of Argentina 7-6 (5), 6-2, and Belgium's Olivier Rochus downed French qualifier Vincent Millot 6-3, 6-2.

"I played a solid match. It wasn't a great match because it's never easy to play against someone you don't know," Mathieu said. "You never know what to expect and you start tentatively."