French world No. 8 Gael Monfils overcame a second-set hiccup to beat longtime friend Gilles Simon for the first time in four years on Thursday and advance to the Japan Open quarterfinals.
Monfils won 6-1, 6-4 to improve to 2-6 in his career against his 30th-ranked compatriot. Simon could not stay on the court with Monfils in the first set, but jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second. Monfils found himself in long rallies he often failed to win on center court at Ariake Tennis Forest Park.
"I knew at one point I had to be more patient, but on the other side you still have to put pressure on him, because the better he's playing, the better he feels," Monfils said. "He was rolling great for four games, playing really well, not missing. I knew it was warm and somehow he would have to drop (off) a little bit and somehow I knew I had to be the aggressor."