French stars out of Monte Carlo Masters

04-15-2009 | AFP

Tennis player Gilles Simon exited his opening match in the second round 7-5, 6-1

Panama Star MONTE CARLO. French hopes took a huge hit on Tuesday as sixth seed Gilles Simon and aching Gael Monfils went down to defeat in a horror start for the nation at the Monte Carlo Masters.

After two days of play, France has suffered four losses, with Simon exiting his opening match in the second round 7-5, 6-1 against Andreas Beck. Joining at the exits was ninth-seed Monfils, whose first-round start ended 6-3, 6-1 in favor of Janko Tipsarevic.