EIGHTH seed Stefano Galvani, from Italy, was sent packing by unseeded Frenchman Jeremy Chardy at the SAA South Africa Tennis Open at Selborne Tennis Park in East London on Valentine's Day.

Chardy beat the Italian in three sets on Thursday, 14 February, to reach the quarter finals and set up a mouthwatering clash with second seed Stefan Koubek of Austria on the centre court today. Koubek reached the quarter finals by beating Sweden's Marcus Sarstrand 6-3, 6-2.

Other players who have reached the business end of the tournament are third seed and former Australian Open champion Thomas Johanson and Portugal's Frederico Gil, the sixth seed.

Speaking about his win over his Swedish rival, Koubek said that the wind gave him a hard time. "I don't like to play in the wind. I prefer to hit balls, not chase them. But … I played very well and I controlled the match the whole time. I also served very well, especially in the set where I really started to feel my serve."

The win means that he will meet the relatively unknown Chardy in the quarters today. "I watched a little of his match today and he's very talented, but it's hard to tell who is playing well because of the wind. He had a long match - hopefully he's going to be a little tired."