Marseille, France, 25 February 2017 | AP

Defending champion Nick Kyrgios has made light work of Norbert Gombos to reach the Open 13 semifinals, beating the Slovakian qualifier 6-3 6-3 in less than an hour.

The third-seeded Australian hit 15 aces and lost just six points on his serve to set up a first career meeting against second-seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

“I thought I served and returned really well today,” Kyrgios said.

“All that matters is that I’m going out there and playing every point hard. I think I’m pretty aggressive on my returns.”

Meanwhile, Tsonga came out on top in an all-French matchup by defeating two-time champion Gilles Simon 6-4 6-1.

Tsonga, who won his 13th career title in Rotterdam last week, is bidding to add a third Marseille trophy to his collection following victories in 2009 and 2013.

The other semifinal is an all-French match between Lucas Pouille and Richard Gasquet.

The fourth-seeded Pouille had 15 aces in a 4-6 6-1 6-4 win against Russian Daniil Medvedev.

No. 6 Richard Gasquet rallied to beat No. 1 Gael Monfils 6-7(5) 6-4 6-2 in another all-French match, winning for the sixth time in their 13 career meetings.