Gael Monfils eases past Daniel Brands

Gael Monfils has beaten Daniel Brands in straight sets in their Qatar Open quarter-final.

The Frenchman cruised to a 6-2 6-1 victory in just 48 minutes to book his place in the last four.

Brands had won all three of his previous meetings with the 27-year-old, but was quickly broken by the aggressive approach of his opponent.

The German found it difficult to match Monfils, who averaged 76% on his first serve, and was not broken once during the match.

Monfils will face Florian Mayer, who beat Victor Hanescu earlier in the day, in the semi-finals.