Marseille, France (Sports Network) - Top seed Tomas Berdych was tested mightily in his second-round match Wednesday at the $700,000 Open 13 tennis event.

The former Wimbledon runner-up outlasted capable Latvian wild card Ernests Gulbis 6-4, 6-7 (10-12), 6-4 in 2 hours, 12 minutes to reach the quarterfinals on the indoor surface at Palais des Sports. Gulbis smacked 19 aces in a losing effort, as Berdych broke three times, compared to only one break for the tough-luck loser.

Former top-10 Frenchman and 2007 champion Gilles Simon posted a first-round win, as this week's sixth seed beat Dutchman Robin Haase 7-5, 7-5.

Promising Aussie Bernard Tomic booked a spot in the quarterfinals by handling Indian Somdev Devvarman 6-3, 7-5 in a second-round affair.

In some other opening-round play, 2010 runner-up Julien Benneteau beat wild card and fellow Frenchman Lucas Pouille 7-6 (7-0), 6-3 and Russian qualifier Dmitry Tursunov vanquished French qualifier Edouard Roger-Vasselin 7-5, 6-3.

On Thursday, second-seeded Juan Martin del Potro will face French favorite Michael Llodra, the 2010 champion and 2009 runner-up in Marseille, in a rematch of last year's final here, which was won by the tall Argentine. The former U.S. Open champion del Potro is also fresh off his title in Rotterdam last week.

The Sports Network