STEPHEN GALLACHER achieved a bitter-sweet win against Ryder Cup team-mate Victor Dubuisson yesterday to end a frustrating sequence of 10 consecutive singles defeats.

But it was the Frenchman who prevailed to reach the last eight of the Volvo World Match Play Championship at the London Golf Club in Kent.

Gallacher was left to reflect that fate has not been kind to him after Spaniard Pablo Larrazabal chipped in from 50 yards in his preceding group match to snatch a dramatic victory and effectively end the 39-year-old Scot's hopes.

But Gallacher will have taken heart from his 2&1 success after he had also lost his opener to Ireland's Shane Lowry.

"It was a good win in the end," he said. "I was only three-under-par, but the conditions were tougher, as were the pins, and I had nothing other than pride to play for."

Gallacher recovered from going one-down at the first with birdies at the fifth, ninth, tenth and 13th after Dubuisson had regained the lead.

He reflected: "I just could not birdie that first hole all week. Every day I hit it in the same place and I never had a lie yesterday. But I sank a couple of good putts towards the end."

Gallacher is planning a short family holiday to Aviemore before embarking on an unbroken run of four tournaments in the Final Series commencing with the BMW Masters in Shanghai.

He added: "There are four big tournaments, with bonuses and world ranking points and then in December the new season starts in Sun City, where I've never played before."

Meanwhile, Dubuisson, the No.3 seed, will face Finland's Mikko Ilonen, who beat France's Alexander Levy by one hole, in the second of the quarter-finals.

American Ryder Cup player Patrick Reed, whose 3&2 win against Welshman Jamie Donaldson enabled him to top his group, will set the ball rolling against South African George Coetzee, who progressed despite losing 2&1 to Italy's Francesco Molinari.

Dutchman Joost Luiten, the only player to win all three group matches when he overcame defending champion Graeme McDowell by two holes, has a tie against Larrazabal, a 2&1 winner over Lowry.

Henrik Stenson, who accounted for Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee 2&1, takes on fellow-Swede Jonas Blixt, who halved his match with former champion Paul Casey before winning at the first extra hole.