Richard Gasquet celebrated his 28th birthday by reaching the quarter-finals of the Aegon International in Eastbourne where he enjoyed a three-set victory over Australian Bernard Tomic.
The top-seeded Frenchman, who won this event in 2005 and 2006 when it was held in Nottingham, needed 103 minutes to register a 6-4 3-6 6-3 triumph over his Stuttgart-born opponent.
Gasquet, the world No 14, had to fend off 16 aces by the 21-year-old Tomic who could only convert one of his 10 break points.
In a tight contest that yielded a total of just three service breaks, Gasquet secured the decisive one in the second game of the final set before sealing victory on his third match point.
As for looking ahead to Wimbledon, the defeated world No 82 Tomic was not too unhappy with his form, saying: "I've had two good weeks, I'm happy with the way it's been going.
"I'm struggling to convert the break points lately. Today, I had a lot of break points but I couldn't finish it on those occasions. But it was very good tennis. He's playing good and it's difficult to play against him."
Feliciano Lopez was pushed by German Tobias Kamke before the third seed came through to win 7-6 (12-10) 7-5.
The Spaniard now faces Jeremy Chardy in the quarter-finals following his 6-4 7-5 win over Carlos Berlocq.
Sixth seed Gilles Simon lost in straight sets in an all-French second-round affair as Julien Benneteau recorded a 6-3 6-4 win.
Benneteau will next face Sam Querrey whose opponent, Victor Estrella-Burgos of the Dominican Republic, was forced to retire whilst a set down to the American.