Paris Masters - Janowicz
sets up Simon semi as Ferrer ends Tsonga hopes
Polish qualifier Jerzy Janowicz, 21, lies in wait for
Simon in the semi-finals after he produced another breathtaking
performance in recovering to complete a 3-6 6-1 4-1 win over world
number nine Janko Tipsarevic, who retired apparently feeling groggy with
his opponent on the cusp of victory.
David Ferrer showed his class with a convincing 6-2 7-5 win over 2008 champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
The world number four was always a step ahead of Tsonga, who huffed and
puffed but failed to earn one break point never mind a break of serve
in the match.
He will face French qualifier Michael Llodra, a figure posted at 121 in the world, in the semi-finals after his serve and volley brilliance saw him complete a 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 win over American Sam Querrey in Friday's final quarter-final.
Janowicz, the world number 69, proved his win over US Open champion
Andy Murray on Thursday was no fluke as he almost battered his Serbian
opponent into submission hitting 33 winners to only 11 from Tipsarevic.
"This is something magical for me. I don't know what is going on in
my heart right now," said Janowicz. "I feel like I am going to wake up
and everything has gone. It is going to take some time to understand
what is going on, but I have to focus on my next match.
"In the second and third sets, I played unbelievable tennis. I
couldn't play better than that. I don't how I will win my next match. I
need a few hours rest."
In the opening quarter-final, Berdych was penalised for throwing in a
series of misplaced shots against the home player, making 43 unforced
errors compared to only 21 by a crafty Simon, who utilised the angles of
the court to trouble the more powerful Berdych, whose lack of
consistency on the forehand side proved to be his downfall.
The unseeded Simon, who reached the quarter-finals after Japanese Kei
Nishikori withdrew with an ankle injury, had too much pace for Berdych
in front of his home crowd.
World number six Berdych is already assured of a place in next week's
ATP World Tour finals in London, but will surely have to recover his
gait to trouble the leading names in the game when he gets there.
In particular, Berdych will wonder what went wrong in the second set
having led 3-0 and 4-1 only to see Simon recover to win the last five
games of the match to progress to a meeting with Janowicz that should be
unpredictable at the very least.
Tsonga, who also secured a berth in the World Tour Finals on
Thursday, was never in the hunt against a focused Ferrer, the
highest-ranked player left in the draw after Murray and world number two
Novak Djokovic had been dumped out.
Ferrer, who did not face a single break point, raced through the
first set and although the sixth-seeded Frenchman increased the pressure
in the second, Tsonga was too sloppy to seriously trouble his opponent.
|