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Posted at 6:38 a.m., Thursday, February 19, 2009

Tennis: Djokovic beats Hernych in France

Associated Press

MARSEILLE, France — Novak Djokovic reached the quarterfinals of the Open 13 today, beating Jan Hernych of the Czech Republic 7-5, 6-4.

The third-ranked Serb broke Hernych in the first game, then dropped serve at 5-4. They also traded breaks in the second set, with Djokovic again breaking to claim the set.

"I made a lot of unforced errors today," Djokovic said. "I was in control of the match most of the time. With my mistakes, I gave him opportunities to come back in the match. But I'm happy to get through in straight sets."

Djokovic will next play Mischa Zverev of Germany.

Julien Benneteau of France joined Djokovic in the last eight by defeating George Bastl of Switzerland 6-1, 2-6, 6-1. Benneteau will next face either Rainer Schuettler of Germany or Gilles Simon of France.