http://www.atptennis.com/lyon/newsstories/fridaypreview.asp
Quarterfinal action gets underway on Friday with top seed
Marat Safin and No. 3 Sebastien Grosjean as the only seeded
players remaining in the final eight. Grosjean is one of
four French quarterfinalists in action in Lyon, the first
time four have reached this stage on the ATP circuit in 2002.

In what promises to be another mouthwatering clash between
Safin and Gustavo Kuerten, Guga will be attempting to win
his fourth consecutive match against the Russian. Kuerten
tied their head-to-head series at 3-3 after defeating Safin
in convincing fashion in the second round of the US Open
last month, although five of their six meetings have either
gone to five sets or have been decided on a final set
tie-break.

Grosjean will tackle the task of defeating countryman Arnaud
Clement for a spot in the semifinals and to break a 1-1 tie
in this year's series between the two French stars. Grosjean
scored a quarterfinal win in Rotterdam, but Clement soared
back some seven months later to defeat his Davis Cup teammate
in a five-set thriller at the US Open. Clement holds the
overall edge, with a 4-2 mark as both players are still looking
for their first title of the year.

"The winner will be the one who is the most motivated," said
Grosjean. "It is tough to play against a great friend but at
least there will be one French player guaranteed in the
semifinal. I have been playing well here in Lyon so far and
look forward to the match tomorrow."

Moscow winner Paul-Henri Mathieu will look to extend his winning
streak to 10 as he takes on Jonas Bjorkman. The 20-year-old
Mathieu has a 1-0 lead on the Swede after posting a straight
sets win in Indianapolis two years ago. But don't count out the
30-year-old Bjorkman, who defeated Andy Roddick, Greg Rusedski
and Wayne Arthurs among others to capture the Nottingham title
earlier this year.

In Friday's other quarterfinal match, qualifier Kristian Pless
of Denmark will square off against Frenchman Nicolas Escude for
the first time in their respective careers. Escude is trying to
finish the year more like it started for the Frenchman. He
reached the quarterfinals in Sydney in his first event of the
year and followed by reaching the semifinals in Milan, the finals
in Marseille and finished won the title in Rotterdam. A win for
Pless would be his first ATP semifinal this year.