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By Sean Rudolph
© BNP Paribas Masters

(November 11, 2010) Stabbing slick volleys and soaring for authoritative overheads, Michael Llodra was a man in motion in Paris today. Agility must run deep in the Llodra DNA  — as his three-year-old son Theo danced in the aisle, the forward-thinking Llodra delivered a stirring shotmaking display in saving two set points to defeat defending champion Novak Djokovic, 7-6(6), 6-2, and advance to his first career Masters 1000 quarterfinal at the BNP Paribas Masters.

"I have to congratulate him because he played a perfect match," Djokovic said. "I returned well in the first set but every time I needed an important point, he came up with a huge serve or an incredible first volley."

The match served as a possible preview of next month's Davis Cup final between host Serbia and France in Belgrade and while the hard court will not nearly play as fast in Serbia as it is in Paris and Llodra will not enjoy the overwhelming support of 14,000 French fans, the left-hander showed the serve-and-volley skills that make him a threat against top 10 opponents when he's on his game.

The 34th-ranked Frenchman raised his record against top 10 players to 8-24. He was 2-18 in his first 20 matches against top 10 opponents and has gone 6-6 vs. top 10 players since then, including an emphatic win over seventh-ranked Tomas Berdych in the US Open opening round in August.



Llodra will face either the sixth-seeded Berdych or former champion Nikolay Davydenko for a spot in Saturday's semifinals.

With French Davis Cup captain guy Forget and Llodra's coaching consultant, former World No. 1 and New York City marathon finisher Amelie Mauresmo, watching from the stands, Llodra blasted a biting serve down the middle to earn double match point. Attacking net behind his serve, Llodra was leaning to his right, but shifted his weight and launched his 6-foot-3 frame to his left, an impressive display of body control, snapping off a reflex forehand volley winner down the line to wrap up a one hour, 33-minute victory in which Llodra won 90 percent of his first serve points (37 of 41).

The 30-year-old Llodra is the second Frenchman into the final eight.

Gael Monfils, who lost to Djokovic in the 2009 final and is a likely singles starter in next month's Davis Cup final, thrilled his hometown fans in fighting off two match points to eliminate sixth-seeded Spaniard Fernando Verdasco, 6-7(4), 7-6(2), 7-5, in two hours, 45 minutes.

Eighth-seeded AndyRoddick smacked 12 aces and did not drop serve in a 6-3, 7-6(8) win over Latvian Ernests Gulbis at the BNP Paribas Masters. Roddick was the first man to reach the Paris quarterfinals and clinched a spot in the ATP World Tour Finals for the eighth straight year when Fernando Verdasco fell to Gael Monfils.

"I thought I played a really good tie breaker," Roddick said. "He came up with some really great shots in the breaker and almost kind of snuck it out. I was able to control the rallies with my chip and keep my ball down out of the strike zone for the majority of the day. It was just solid. I was making him play, every ball and picking the right shots to attack. I was happy with it overall."

By virtue of today's win, Roddick eliminated his sometime practice partner, Jürgen Melzer, from qualifying for the ATP World Tour finals in London. Melzer needed to win the Paris title and needed Roddick to lose by the third round in order to qualify for London.

The sixth-seeded Verdasco's departure means Wimbledon finalist Tomas Berdych, Valencia champion David Ferrer and Roddick will join World No. 1 Rafael Nadal, 16-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Robin Soderling in the eight-man field for London, which starts on November 21st.

Roddick will face fourth-seeded Swede Soderling, who was a 7-6(3), 6-3 victor over Stanislas Wawrinka, for a semifinal spot.

The eighth-ranked Roddick raised his record to 3-0 vs. Gulbis, including rallying from a one-set, one break deficit to post a 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 7-5 win at the 2008 US Open.

Roddick, who has reached the Paris final four in two of his last four appearances, missed the tournament last year and said he's satisfied with the speed of the surface, which rewards his resounding serve.

Roddick opened a 2-0 first-set lead and never looked back in erasing the only break point he faced in the match.

A game Gulbis saved three match points and gained a set point in the breaker, but could not convert. Gulbis netted a rally forehand as Roddick closed the one hour, 33-minute match.

"He's dangerous at any time," said Roddick of Gulbis. "The difference between someone at the top level of tennis and someone who displays flashes of brilliance is doing it again and again and again. We call it the repeater. He'll get there. The courts are fast (here in Paris) and a lot out of what happens is out of your hands. There should be some fast courts in tennis — and I'm having fun playing on it."