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Barring the No. 4 seed Richard Gasquet, who was ousted by German Philipp Kohlschreiber, the quarter-finals went according to plan for the top seeds as they booked their designated places in the semi-finals of the Open Sud de France at Montpellier. The No. 1 seed Tomas Berdych didn't face much trouble in defeating the 'marathon man' Nicolas Mahut. Equally smooth was third seed and 2010 champion Gael Monfils' passage to the semis as he won his match against world No.50 Jarkko Nieminen in less than an hour. The second seeded Frenchman Gilles Simon though had to dig deep and eventually prevailed over 21 year old countryman Guillaume Rufin in three sets.

In what was easily the longest quarter-final, lasting 2 hours and 53 minutes, World No.12 Simon made his superior experience count against the youngest player left in the draw, ultimately winning 7-6(5) 6-7(2) 6-2.

The first set was as even as it could be with both players winning 44 points each, Simon eking it out in the breaker. In the second set, the world no.209 Rufin made better use of the opportunities in the breaker and levelled the match. However, in the final set Rufin failed to hold onto his service games and at 2-2, Simon reeled off 4 straight games to take the set and the match.

The world No. 7 and top seed Tomas Berdych had no such problems as he quelled the challenge of another Frenchman Nicolas Mahut 6-3, 6-4 in 74 minutes. Berdych continued to serve consistently, winning 94 percent of his first service points and securing 38 out of 47 points on his serve overall. There was a minor blip at the start of the second set as the Czech fell 0-3 behind but he recovered quickly to win five straight games and seal a berth in the semi-finals. Awaiting him in the semi-finals is the man against whom Berdych enjoys a 6-1 career advantage - German Philipp Kohlschreiber.

The seventh seeded Kohlschreiber delivered a knockout punch to the fourth seeded Frenchman Richard Gasquet, winning 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in an hour and 42 minutes, much to the disappointment of the partisan home crowd at Court Central. The German was in top gear throughout, firing 18 aces and converting 3 out of 6 breakpoint opportunities in the match. On the other hand, Gasquet was not in his element and barring the second set in which he broke the German's serve, could never really dictate the pace of the contest.

Completing the semi-final line up is the Doha finalist and third seed Gael Monfils, a 6-3, 6-3 victor over the veteran Finn Jarkko Nieminen. Monfils continued from where had left in his Round 2 match against another senior pro Michael Russell, losing a mere 6 points on his serve and not facing a single breakpoint during the 54 minutes long duel. His triumph sets up an all French clash against Gilles Simon in the semi-finals.

Quarter-final Results:

[1] T Berdych (CZE) d N Mahut (FRA) 63 64
[2] G Simon (FRA) d [WC] G Rufin (FRA) 76(5) 67(2) 62
[3] G Monfils (FRA) d [8] J Nieminen (FIN) 63 63
[7] P Kohlschreiber (GER) d [4] R Gasquet (FRA) 62 36 63