Brussels (AFP)
Gilles Simon and Ugo Humbert improved the French record in the ATP 250 tournament in Antwerp by qualifying for the second round on Tuesday, when Grégoire Barrère and Richard Gasquet were eliminated from the start.
Against Belgian Steve Darcis, who was playing in Antwerp his last tournament on Belgian soil, Simon, N.47 world, was expeditious: 6-1, 6-2 in a little over an hour.
The Niçois won his ticket for a duel ... Franco-French in the second round, against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, qualified Monday with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Italy's Lorenzo Sonego.
Tuesday night, Ugo Humbert (70th) has logically beaten the Slovak Jozef Kovalik, 176th, 6-4, 7-5, but will have to score a success in the next round against the "local hero" David Goffin, 14th world player and already winner of four tournaments in his career.
Earlier in the day, Grégoire Barrère and Richard Gasquet had to surrender, respectively against Jan-Lennard Struff (N.41), 6-2, 6-1, and South Korea's Kwon Soon-woo ( N.88), 1-6, 6-3, 6-4.
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