Raonic and Tsonga reach Lyon semifinals

LYON, France – Top-seeded Milos Raonic of Canada eased into the semifinals of the Lyon Open with a straight sets victory over Portuguese qualifier Gastao Elias on Thursday.

Elias had defeated Juan Martin del Potro the previous day, but Raonic, from Thornhill, Ont., was never in difficulty as he won 6-4, 6-3. He will next play third-seeded Tomas Berdych after the Czech player beat No. 5 Gilles Simon 6-4, 6-0.

French second-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga remained on course for a third ATP World Tour title of the season with a 6-0, 6-4 victory over Karen Khachanov of Russia.

Tsonga will face Nikoloz Basilashvili after the Georgian beat Argentine qualifier Nicolas Kicker 6-3, 6-1.

In doubles quarter-final play, Adil Shamasdin of Pickering, Ont., and Andres Molteni of Argentina posted a 6-2, 6-3 win over Carlos Berlocq of Argentina and Andreas Seppi of Italy.

Lyon has been added to the calendar as a replacement for the Nice Open, a traditional warmup for the French Open, which starts on Sunday in Paris.