Gael Glides Into Vienna Semi-finals

Gael Monfils moved inside the Top 10 in the ATP Race To London on Friday, after his 7-5, 6-1 victory against Aljaz Bedene at the Erste Bank Open.

The fourth seed claimed 81 per cent of first-serve points (29/36) to earn his 35th tour-level victory of the season after 70 minutes. Monfils improves to 14-5 at the ATP 500 event, where he reached the championship match in 2008.

The 33-year-old overtakes David Goffin and Fabio Fognini to occupy 10th position in the Race after earning 90 points for the quarter-final victory. Monfils is just 310 points behind Matteo Berrettini, who occupies the eighth and final qualification position. Berrettini defeated Andrey Rublev to reach his eighth tour-level semi-final of the year in the first match of the day on Center Court.

The Frenchman will meet fellow London contender Diego Schwartzman for a place in Sunday’s final. Monfils owns a 2-1 FedEx ATP Head2Head record against the Argentine, who beat Karen Khachanov in straight sets to reach the last four.

Monfils is attempting to lift his second indoor ATP Tour trophy of the year this week. The World No. 14 captured his eighth tour-level crown at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in February.

Appearing in his second quarter-final at the tournament, Bedene was aiming to reach the semi-finals in Vienna for the first time. The 30-year-old, who also advanced to the last eight in 2012, reached his first indoor ATP Tour final at the Moselle Open last month.