Gilles Simon survives Paul-Henri Mathieu scare

Omnisports 08:23 - 28 April 2016

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Paul-Henri Mathieu was unable to secure a fourth victory over Gilles Simon as the top seed came from behind to reach the last eight.

Number one seed Gilles Simon survived a scare against Paul-Henri Mathieu to advance to the quarter-finals of the Estoril Open with a 3-6 6-2 6-1 triumph

Simon's only win over Mathieu in four previous attempts came when the latter retired in the first round of Wimbledon in 2012.

It looked as though it would be a familiar story for the world number 18 on Thusrday when he surrendered the opening set.

But much time has passed since Mathieu's three successive victories over Simon in 2007 and 2008 and the 34-year-old was unable to replicate those feats.

After failing to serve out the second set, Simon broke his opponent to force a third, where he dropped just one game en route to victory.

Next up for the Frenchman is Pablo Carreno Busta, who eased past Taro Daniel 6-4 7-5 to secure a quarter-final berth.

Number four seed and home hope Joao Sousa suffered a 4-6 6-1 6-2 defeat to Nicolas Almagro and the Spaniard will meet Leonardo Mayer following his 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 win against Paolo Lorenzi.