Andreev, Mathieu in Swiss Open QF

Gstaad, Switzerland:

Russian wild card Igor Andreev upset eighth-seeded Potito Starace 6-3, 7-5 in the second round of the Swiss Open on Thursday.

Andreev will meet defending champion Richard Gasquet of France in the quarterfinals. Gasquet - the highest seeded player remaining at No 3 - swept past Kristof Vliegen of Belgium 6-3, 6-4.

The 21-year-old Gasquet reached his first Grand Slam semifinal at Wimbledon last week before losing to eventual champion Roger Federer. He improved his ranking to a career-best No 7.

Fifth-seeded Paul-Henri Mathieu advanced by beating Feliciano Lopez of Spain 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (4).

Mathieu, who won his first title in five years at Casablanca on clay in April, lost to Andy Roddick in the fourth round of Wimbledon last week to reach a career-high ranking of No 28.

Mathieu will next face Gael Monfils, who knocked out top-seeded Nikolay Davydenko in the opening round before beating Czech qualifier Jiri Vanek 6-1, 6-4 in the second.

Andreas Seppi also reached the quarterfinals, beating Stefan Koubek of Austria 1-6, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (6). It is the first time the 23-year-old Italian has won more than one match at any ATP tournament this season to improve to 10-16.

Seppi will now face Martin Vassalla Arguello of Argentina, who defeated Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.