JOHANNESBURG-- Gael Monfils beat fellow Frenchman Josselin Ouanna in straight sets to advance to the quarter-finals of the South African Open on Thursday.
Monfils, the top seed, had too much firepower for his compatriot as he clinched a 6-4 7-5 win in one hour 20 minutes.
Monfils made a quick start to the match, breaking Ouanna's serve in the fourth game of the first set, to move 3-1 ahead.
Ouanna, ranked 121st in the world, broke back immediately to fight his way back into the contest but Monfils claimed the first set after 39 minutes when Ouanna hit an unforced error to surrender his serve.
Monfils, who hit 12 aces during the match, set up a clash with seventh seed Lu Yen-Hsun of Taiwan who ended the run of the final South African in the draw, Raven Klaasen, with a 6-4 7-5 win.
Spain's David Ferrer, the second seed, was made to work hard by Swedish qualifier Filip Prpic for a 6-3 6-4 victory.
Ferrer, who produced 56 unforced errors, will now play India's Somdev Davvarman who beat Brazilian Thiago Alves 6-4 6-1.
