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Djokovic, Tsonga cruise into Paris quarters

Thu 12th, November 2009

Paris, France (Sports Network) - Novak Djokovic of Serbia and Frenchman Jo- Wilfried Tsonga were among the early third-round winners Thursday at the Paribas Masters, the final Masters event of the 2009 campaign.

The third-seeded Djokovic rolled to a 6-2, 6-2 victory over French qualifier Arnaud Clement, while the eighth-seeded Tsonga needed just 52 minutes to post a 6-2, 6-3 win over countrymate Gilles Simon.

Tsonga is the defending champion of this event and now controls his own destiny for a berth in the season-ending ATP Tour World Finals. If he can successfully defend this title, he will be one of the players in the exclusive eight-man field in London later this month.

It could be a tall task for Tsonga, as he could face second-seeded Rafael Nadal in the quarters. The Spanish superstar, who saved five match points in a second-round win on Wednesday, will play countrymate Tommy Robredo later Thursday.

Fernando Verdasco of Spain was sitting in the eighth and final spot for London, but he was beaten Thursday by Marin Cilic. The 12th-seeded Croat came back from a set down to earn a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 triumph over the seventh-seeded Verdasco, who must wait to find out if he can still qualify for London.

Cilic will next meet Frenchman Gael Monfils, who breezed by countryman Julien Benneteau, 6-4, 6-3 on Thursday. Benneteau pulled the upset of the tournament on Wednesday with a second-round shocker over top-seeded Roger Federer.

Djokovic, coming off a victory over Federer in the Basel final on Sunday, will next face French Open runner-up Robin Soderling of Sweden in the quarters. The ninth-seeded Soderling kept his London hopes alive Thursday with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 win over Russia's Nikolay Davydenko.

This week's winner will claim $675,000.