Miami: Veteran Tommy Haas backed up his upset of world number one Novak Djokovic with a quarter-final victory over Gilles Simon yesterday to advance to a semi-final against David Ferrer at the Sony Open in Miami.
The 34-year-old Haas, who beat Djokovic on Tuesday, produced a strong encore performance in his 6-3 6-1 victory, when he produced an outstanding return game, breaking Simon once in the first set and three times in the second.
Haas will next face world number five Ferrer who overcame a sloppy start to defeat Austrian Jurgen Melzer 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 in their quarter-final.
Third-seeded Ferrer, who has already won twice this year after notching seven tournament wins in 2012, raced through the final set losing just four points on serve and committing only four unforced errors to finish with a flourish.
The loss ended a nine-match winning streak for 42nd-ranked Melzer, who won earlier this month in Dallas.
The Spaniard will meet Haas today.
Meanwhile, Maria Sharapova kept her quest for a first Miami title on track yesterday with a hard-fought 7-5, 7-5 quarter-final triumph over Italy’s Sara Errani.
Sharapova had her struggles against eighth-seeded Errani, the same woman Sharapova beat in last year’s French Open final to complete a career Grand Slam.
Sharapova fired six aces, but also had 14 double faults.
Trailing 4-5 in the second, Sharapova saved three set points to knot the set at 5-5.
She then broke Errani in the penultimate game and held serve to end it on a forehand winner after two hours and 29 minutes.
“With all the tournaments I have played, this one I have been so successful at but yet I haven’t won it,” said Sharapova, a four-time finalist at the Miami WTA and ATP Masters hardcourt tournament but never the winner.
“I’ve been so close to winning,” she said. “I would love to win this. I’ve been coming to this tournament since I was a little kid. It would mean a lot to win it.”
Sharapova will battle for a place in the final against 22nd-seeded Serbian Jelena Jankovic.
Former world No. 1 Jankovic defeated Italian Roberta Vinci 6-4, 6-7 (6/8), 6-3.
The other women’s semi-final was set on Tuesday, with world No. 1 and top seed Serena Williams advancing to take on defending champion and fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland. REUTERS
