Wilfried Tsonga outclassed Uzbek Denis Istomin Thursday to complete a triumphant second round for France at the SA Tennis Open. Fifth seed Jeremy Chardy and qualifier Sebastien de Chaunac also advanced to the last eight and meet Friday to guarantee a French presence in the semifinals of the ATP-sanctioned tournament. Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, Portuguese Frederico Gil and Belgian Kristof Vliegen also won on a day when play began pre-lunch to clear a rain-induced backlog. Tsonga won 6-1, 6-4 in just under one hour after receiving a rapturous welcome from a center-court crowd that has fallen in love with the Muhammad Ali-lookalike. He broke the service of Istomin twice in the opening set and once in the second to achieve an effortless success and set up a clash with seventh seed Vliegen. “I played well against an opponent who was not easy to overcome and I'm finding no problem with the altitude. Kristof has been in the top 30 and will be a difficult challenge,” said Tsonga. Chardy, who turns 22 next Thursday, dreams of facing Tsonga in the final after a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Swiss qualifier Marco Chiudinelli, a predictable outcome give the 444-place world ranking gap. At 31, journeyman de Chaunac is the oldest competitor in a tournament resuscitated after a 14-year absence from the international circuit due to lack of sponsorship. But the Frenchman who overcame two South Africans just to make the main draw came up trumps again against local opposition, came from a set down to oust wildcard Izak van der Merwe in a match featuring two tiebreakers. The other South African survivor from the first round, Rik de Voest, also went out with a third-set calf injury easing the path to victory for tenacious Portuguese Frederico Gil. Trailing by a set and 3-0, Gil stormed back to overcome the South African Davis Cup star and match his best ATP showing, a quarterfinals slot in Estoril last year. Vliegen showed no mercy to Ivo Minar of the Czech Republic, winning 6-4, 6-1 in a match that lasted just 54 minutes, while Garcia-Lopez triumphed 6-4, 7-5 against Argentine Leonardo Mayer. Jankovic in for Sharapova Serbia's Jelena Jankovic has received a wildcard entry for next week's Paris Open in place of shoulder injury victim, and fellow ex-number one, Maria Sharapova, organizers said Thursday. Jankovic will join top-ranked Australian Open champion Serena Williams and number four-ranked Russian Olympic champion Elena Dementieva at the Pierre-de
