Llodra, the 2008 champion, has now lost all three of his matches with 2008 Australian open finalist Tsonga.
The French winner, who has put together back-to-back wins for the first time in a month, will next play either fourth-seeded Wimbledon finalist Tomas Berdych or Russian qualifier Dmitry Tursunov.
“It was a tough match,” said Tsonga, working to lift a ranking which has sunk to 18th after falling from the Top ten due to inactivity due to injury in the second half of 2010.
“Mika is one of the best players on this (indoor) surface. I started well but he played better than me in the first set. I was happy to get the win, it was pretty difficult.
“My two previous wins gave me the confidence going in, but I also played well. In the quarter-finals, I can just play my game. I’ve been getting better with each match this year.” Tsonga is recovering from a bizarre end to his Australian Open campaign, squandering a two-sets-to-one lead against Alexandr Dolgopolov and collapsing in the last two sets against the young Ukrainian in the third round.
Two more Frenchman squared off at the Ahoy complex, with Benoit Paire putting out Gilles Simon 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 in just over 90 minutes. Spain’s Feliciano Lopez beat German Florian Mayer 6-3, 6-4.
Sampras advise helps Raonic to victory
In San Jose, California, a couple of tips from 14-times grand slam champion Pete Sampras helped Canada’s new tennis hope Milos Raonic to a comprehensive 6-3, 6-4 victory over fourth seed Xavier Malisse at the San Jose Open on Tuesday.
The 20-year-old Raonic burst on to the scene at last month’s Australian Open where he reached the fourth round as a qualifier and he continued the momentum with a first round victory over Malisse after meeting Sampras on Monday.
“I got to meet Pete Sampras. It was really amazing,” Raonic wrote in his blog on the tournament website (www.sapopentennis.com).
“He gave me some well-thought out tips. For me, it was an unbelievable experience, especially when you’re coming up and getting to the point where you meet your idols. It means a lot.”
After becoming the first the first male qualifier to reach the last 16 at the Australian Open since 2005, Raonic did his best Sampras impersonation in San Jose by recording 20 aces against Malisse to set up a second-round match against American James Blake.
“It’s nice playing these guys you used to watch. I think I’ll have an advantage - I’ll know him more than he’ll know me,” Raonic said.
Blake, who beat compatriot Jesse Levine in his opening match on Monday, is coming off knee and shoulder injuries and is playing in his first competitive tournament since October.
Elsewhere in San Jose, third-seeded Sam Querrey was upset by Slovakia’s Lukas Lacko 7-6 6-3. It was the third straight loss of the year for Querrey who reached the semi-finals last year in San Jose.
In other matches, Lithuanian Richard Berankis beat sixth-seeded Benjamin Becker 6-3 7-6, Kei Nishikori beat Jan Hajek 6-1 7-6, Brian Dabul defeated Alejandro Falla 6-4 6-3 and former US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro knocked off Teymuraz Gabashvili 6-3 6-2.
Ivanovic, Vinci, Peng advance
In Pattaya, Thailand, second-seeded Ana Ivanovic downed American veteran Jill Craybas 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 in a second-round match which was suspended for 40 minutes because of an electricity failure at the Pattaya Open on Wednesday.
Third-seeded Maria Kirilenko of Russia squandered three match points in losing to Kazakh qualifier Galina Voskoboeva 1-6, 7-5, 6-4, and sixth-seeded Peng Shuai of China defeated Elena Baltacha of Britain 2-6, 6-1, 6-4 in 1 hour, 51 minutes, marking the third time in five years Peng made it into at least the quarterfinals in Pattaya.
She will face the winner between top-seeded Vera Zvonareva and local player Nungnadda Wannasuk.
Ivanovic, the 2008 French Open champion, was a break down at 2-1 in the first set in her first match with Craybas when the blackout occurred.
In the second set, she was double break points down but reeled off five straight games to win it 6-1 and force a decider.
Ivanovic blew a 3-2 break lead but refocused to break in the 11th game and go on to win in 2 hours, 12 minutes.
She next plays fifth-seeded Italian Roberta Vinci, who beat China’s Zhang Shuai 7-5, 6-1.
Kirilenko led 6-1, 5-2 and served for the match at 5-4, 40-0 but let her nerves get the better of her. She built a 3-1 lead against Voskoboeva in the third set and failed again to capitalize on the opportunity.
It was the second premature exit from Pattaya for the Russian, who as the second seed in 2007 was knocked out in the first round.
Wickmayer, Petkovic win
In Paris, Yanina Wickmayer defeated Elena Vesnina of Russia 7-6 (1), 6-2 in the first round of the Open Gaz de France on Wednesday.
The Belgian saved a break point at 4-2 down in the first set and will face Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic.
Sixth-seeded Andrea Petkovic of Germany overcame problems on her serve to beat Angelique Kerber 7-5, 3-6, 6-2. Petkovic faced 17 break points in the match, losing her serve five times. She will play Kristina Kucova of Slovakia in the second round.
