Chardy reaches first Grand Slam quarter-final

MELBOURNE (AFP) –

Jeremy Chardy celebrates after winning his match against Andreas Seppi on the eighth day of the Australian Open in Melbourne, on January 21, 2013. Chardy reached the first Grand Slam quarter-final of his career with a straight-sets win. The world number 36 recovered from a slow start to prevail 5-7, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2.

France’s Jeremy Chardy reached the first Grand Slam quarter-final of his career with a straight-sets defeat of Italian Andreas Seppi at the Australian Open on Monday.

The world number 36 recovered from a slow start to beat Seppi 5-7, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 and book a berth against either fellow Frenchman Gilles Simon or US Open champion Andy Murray, who were playing later on Monday.

Chardy’s previous best performance at a major was his fourth-round appearance at the French Open in 2008, when he lost to Spaniard Nicolas Almagro.

The 25-year-old had never previously made it past the second round in six visits to Melbourne.

“I always play bad in Australia,” Chardy said. “But this time, I play good.

“I am feeling very good on the court. It was a very difficult match in the beginning and I was tired, but it was the fourth round in a Grand Slam so I had to be strong in my head.”

Chardy admitted to struggling with a knee injury.

“I have pain but now I am in the quarters — I have to forget about it,” he said.