The home players enjoyed a good day at the Open de Nice Cote d'Azur on Monday as Gael Monfils, Paul-Henri Mathieu and Guillaume Rufin all advanced to round two with victories.

Simon, seeded second, edged wild card Guillaume Rufin 7-6 (5), 6-7 (2), 6-2 in an all-French quarterfinal. Simon will play another Frenchman in the semis when he faces third-seeded Monfils ...