France’s Simon, Isner of US, Germany’s Beck advance to quarterfinals of Thailand Open

Simon, Isner advance to Thailand Open quarters

BANGKOK — Tenth-ranked Gilles Simon of France, playing his first match in a month, routed American Kevin Kim 6-2, 6-2 on Thursday to reach the quarterfinals at the Thailand Open.

Second-seeded Simon, who was forced to retire with a knee injury while facing Juan Carlos Ferrero during the third round of the U.S. Open, dominated play with an impressive baseline game to wrap up the second round match in just 61 minutes.

“I didn’t know what to expect but I played a good match,” said the 24-year-old, who had a first-round bye. “My knee is still shaky but I tried not to think about it. I can play today but sometimes I wake up in the morning and it’s painful.”

Eighth seed John Isner of the United States also advanced to the quarterfinals by defeating Mischa Zverev of Germany 7-6 (5), 6-4.

Isner will next face No. 4 seed Viktor Troicki of Serbia, who advanced to the quarterfinals by beating Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil on Wednesday.

“He’s really good,” Isner said of Troicki. “He hits the ball really big. So do I. It will be a good match. He has won a lot of matches this year. That’s why he’s 32nd in the world. I have to play like I did today if not better to beat him.”

Germany’s Andreas Beck also cruised into the quarterfinals with a 6-1, 6-7 (3), 6-4 victory over Donald Young of the United States. Beck will play sixth-seeded Jurgen Melzer of Austria, who won his second-round match against Turkish qualifier Marsel Ilhan on Wednesday.