VINA DEL MAR: Horacio Zeballos upset fourth seed Pablo Andujar 6-3, 6-3 on Thursday to reach the VTR Open quarter-finals in Vina del Mar.

Zeballos did not face a break point, claiming victory in 80 minutes. For a place in the semi-finals, Zeballos faces another seeded Spaniard, Albert Ramos.

The fifth seed battled past Filippo Volandri 6-7(5), 6-3, 7-5 in two hours and 18 minutes. Ramos improved to 1-1 against Volandri, avenging his second-round loss to the Italian in Kitzbuhel last year.

Third-seeded Jeremy Chardy rallied past 16-year-old wild card Christian Garin 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. Chardy, who reached his first major quarter-final at the Australian Open (l.to Murray), saved nine of the 10 break points he faced to move through in one hour and 43 minutes.

Chardy next plays No. 6 seed Paolo Lorenzi. The Italian defeated Tommy Robredo 6-4, 6-4. Lorenzi broke Robredo once in each set to win the pair’s first meeting in 89 minutes.

Daniel Gimeno-Traver, the No. 7 seed, will face top-seeded compatriot Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals after beating fellow Spaniard Albert Montanes 6-4, 6-4.

Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal and Juan Monaco once again shined on the doubles court, defeating Guillaume Rufin and Filippo Volandri 6-2, 7-6(4) to reach the semi-finals.

Monaco and Nadal won 86 per cent of their first serve points and did not lose serve to advance in 75 minutes. The Argentine/Spanish pair play Carlos Berlocq and Leonardo Mayer next. The Argentines eliminated fourth seeds Oliver Marach and Horacio Zeballos 6-2, 6-4.

Nadal is playing his first tournament in seven months, having been sidelined with a left knee injury. He was victorious in his return to singles action on Wednesday with a straight-sets win over Federico Delbonis.

Gasquet moves up

Third seed Richard Gasquet won a second-round clash between two former Open Sud de France champions on Thursday, topping compatriot Gael Monfils 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 in Montpellier.

The 10th-ranked Gasquet, who triumphed in 2006, prevailed in one hour and 45 minutes over Monfils, the 2010 titlist. Gasquet levelled his FedEx ATP Head to Head record against Monfils to a 4-4 mark. He meets sixth-seeded countryman Julien Benneteau next. Benneteau beat Victor Hanescu 6-4, 6-4.

Fellow Frenchman Gilles Simon reached the quarter-finals as he defeated Spanish qualifier Arnau Brugues-Davi 7-6(5), 6-2. Seeded fourth, Simon hit 12 aces and created 14 break points, converting three times to prevail in 90 minutes.

World No. 9 Janko Tipsarevic suffered his second opening-round exit in as many event appearances, falling to France’s Michael Llodra 6-3, 7-6(4) in 84 minutes.