Simon brushes Stepanek aside
On the Wire
World number nine Gilles Simon breezed to a 6-1 6-4 win over Radek Stepanek at the Masters Cup in Shanghai on Friday.
After improving his round-robin record to 2-1, Simon is now awaiting the result of today's second Red Group match between two-time defending champion Roger Federer and world number four Andy Murray to see if he has qualified for the semi-finals.
After shocking Federer earlier this week, Simon must hope the British number one prevails to advance in second place behind Murray, while Federer must win to keep his bid for a fifth Masters Cup alive.
Simon, 23, is only playing at the season-ending event after world number one Rafael Nadal pulled out through injury, while world number 27 Stepanek stepped in as a replacement for the injured Andy Roddick earlier this week.
Serbian world number three Novak Djokovic and Russian world number five Nikolay Davydenko have already advanced to the semi-finals, which will take place on Saturday, from the Gold Group.
