Posted February 25, 2017 10:21:30

Photo: Nick Kyrgios has kept alive his hopes of defending his Marseille crown with a quarter-final win. (AAP: Tony McDonough, File)

Defending champion Nick Kyrgios has made light work of Norbert Gombos to reach the Open 13 semi-finals in Marseille, beating the Slovakian qualifier 6-3, 6-3 in less than an hour.

The third-seeded Kyrgios hit 15 aces and lost just six points on his serve to set up a first career meeting against second-seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

"I thought I served and returned really well today," Kyrgios said.

"All that matters is that I'm going out there and playing every point hard. I think I'm pretty aggressive on my returns."

Meanwhile, Tsonga came out on top in an all-French match-up by defeating two-time champion Gilles Simon 6-4, 6-1.

Tsonga, who won his 13th career title in Rotterdam last week, is bidding to add a third Marseille trophy to his collection following victories in 2009 and 2013.

The other semi-final is an all-French match between Lucas Pouille and Richard Gasquet.

The fourth-seeded Pouille had 15 aces in a 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 win against Russian Daniil Medvedev.

Richard Gasquet rallied to beat number one seed Gael Monfils 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 6-2 in another all-French match, winning for the sixth time in their 13 career meetings.

AAP

Topics: tennis, sport, france