Fancied Ljubicic falls to Belgian Malisse

Ljubicic, the world number 17, never found his range against Malisse who mixed his play with cunning shots to set up a quarterfinal clash with local favourite and number eight seed Gilles Simon, a 6-1, 6-7, 6-3 winner over Dutchman Igor Sijsling.

"It's a problem of confidence," Ljubicic, who had not played since a first-round defeat at the US Open, told reporters. "I feel exhausted, mentally. I lack practice but actually I had no problem with my calf," he added, referring to a strap around his left calf.

His compatriot Marin Cilic, the top seed, struggled past Slovakian Lukas Lacko with a 7-5, 7-6 win. He will now face sixth-seeded German Philip Kohlschreiber in the last eight.

French Open future

The French Open could stay at Roland Garros instead of moving to the Paris suburbs after plans to extend the Grand Slam venue took a step forward, the French tennis federation president said on Thursday.

“There has been significant progress for the project 'Roland Garros within Roland Garros' although nothing is final,” Jean Gachassin told reporters at the Metz International. The FFT was granted a concession to use several courts next to the Roland Garros stadium which may be enough for the Grand Slam to stay where it is instead of moving to the Paris suburbs.