Michael Llodra beat Serbian second seed Novak Djokovic to reach the quarter-finals of the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris.

Llodra's 7-6 (8/6) 6-2 win over Djokovic has left French Davis Cup captain Guy Forget with plenty to ponder ahead of France's final showdown against the Serbians in Belgrade next month.

Llodra told atptour.com: "I showed I was able to beat Djokovic. I showed I was reliable. Now, in Serbia, the match will be completely different with a different surface, but I was able to show our captain that he could count on me.

"The Davis Cup will be a different competition. I don't want to think too much about the Davis Cup right now, although I know that for many people I showed that I was applying for a selection to play the singles."

Top seed Roger Federer continued his strong end-of-season form, taking just 79 minutes to see off Radek Stepanek 6-4 6-3. Federer fired down 11 aces and was seldom threatened on his own serve.

And third seed Andy Murray wriggled out of a few dangerous situations before joining Federer in the quarter-finals, battling for a 7-6 (8/6) 3-6 6-3 win over Croatia's Marin Cilic in a match lasting two hours and seven minutes.

The final three berths for the forthcoming ATP Tour Championships in London were decided when Spanish hopeful Fernando Verdasco saw his bid end with a 6-7 (4/7) 7-6 (7/2) 7-5 loss to Gael Monfils.

Verdasco's defeat meant Andy Roddick, David Ferrer and Tomas Berdych were guaranteed their places in London despite third-round defeats for both Ferrer and Berdych.

Ferrer lost 7-6 (8/6) 2-6 6-3 to Austria's Jurgen Melzer - whose own bid to reach London ended despite his victory - while Berdych was beaten 4-6 7-6 (7/5) 6-0 by reigning London champion Nikolay Davydenko.

Meanwhile, eighth seed Roddick confirmed his place with a 6-3 7-6 (10/8) win over Latvia's Ernests Gulbis. It will be the eighth year in succession the American has played in the season-ending Championship.

Also in the third round, fourth seed Robin Soderling of Sweden overcame Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka 7-6 (7/3) 6-3.

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