Gasquet cruises past Baghdatis in Montpellier

Richard Gasquet remains on course for a third Open Sud de France title in the last four years after Friday's quarter-final win over Marcos Baghdatis.

The defending champion is the only seed remaining in Montpellier heading into the semi-finals, with the Frenchman dispatching eighth seed Baghdatis 6-4 6-4 for his first win in four meetings with the Cypriot.

Next up for the top seed is qualifier Dustin Brown after Ruben Bemelmans became the latest man to be defeated by the German.

Brown was in complete control against the 28-year-old, taking 28 minutes to claim the opening set and wrapping up his 6-3 6-3 win in under an hour.

Saturday's second semi-final sees world number 85 Alexander Zverev face Paul-Henri Mathieu – who is ranked eight places below him.

Zverev needed to show fight to book his last-four spot after losing the first set against fellow German Michael Berrer, and he battled back to level before sealing a 6-7 (2-7) 6-2 7-5 win.

Mathieu was also made to go the distance in his quarter-final against John Millman, with the Australian unable to match Zverev's earlier achievements as the Frenchman took the decider to advance 7-6 (7-5) 5-7 6-3.

His progress means an all-French final still remains a possibility, although Zverev will be desperate to make his first ATP final.