Wayne Arthurs rode his hard left-handed serve in his all-Australian quarter-final yesterday and eliminated top seed Patrick Rafter in straight sets at the Citrix Tennis Championships.
In one of three match-ups involving countrymen, Arthurs topped his Davis Cup teammate 6-1, 7-6 (9/7) to reach his first semi-final of the season. He will play fourth seed Jan-Michael Gambill of the United States today, hoping to advance to his first career ATP final.
Rafter, who opened the season with a semi-final showing at the Australian Open, next plays at Indian Wells in California.
Gambill outlasted fellow American Chris Woodruff 5-7, 7-6 (11/9), 6-4, last night for a spot in the semi-finals. He saved three match points in the second set and gained revenge for a five-set loss at the Australian Open earlier this year.
In the day session, Dutchman Peter Wessels advanced to his third career ATP semi-final by struggling past friend and compatriot Edwin Kempes, 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/2), in a match of unseeded players.
Wessels, who took the title at Newport, Rhode Island, last year, will face Xavier Malisse of Belgium today for a spot in the final.
Malisse, who upset second seed Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador on Thursday, reached his second straight semi-final by eliminating eighth seed Fabrice Santoro of France, 6-4, 7-6 (7/5). The 20-year-old Malisse was a semi-finalist at last week's Sybase Open in San Jose.
Gambill did not have to take the court for his second-round match Thursday as Britain's Greg Rusedski, the winner of last week's Sybase Open, withdrew due to back spasms. Today, Gambill will be looking reach his first final since Los Angeles last July. AFP