Chardy reaches first Grand Slam quarter-final
Date published :
21 Jan 2013 - 09:18:19
France's Jeremy Chardy reached the first Grand Slam quarter-final of his career with a straight-sets defeat of Italian Andreas Seppi at the Australian Open on Monday.
The world number 36 recovered from a slow start to beat Seppi 5-7, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 and book a berth against either fellow Frenchman Gilles Simon or US Open champion Andy Murray, who were playing later on Monday.
Chardy's previous best performance at a major was his fourth-round appearance at the French Open in 2008, when he lost to Spaniard Nicolas Almagro.
The 25-year-old had never previously made it past the second round in six visits to Melbourne.
"I always play bad in Australia," Chardy said. "But this time, I play good.
"I am feeling very good on the court. It was a very difficult match in the beginning and I was tired, but it was the fourth round in a Grand Slam so I had to be strong in my head."
Chardy admitted to struggling with a knee injury.
"I have pain but now I am in the quarters -- I have to forget about it," he said.
